Long-Term Memories
by Swordtheguy
Summary: Over five-thousand years ago, after the dust of the Gem Rebellion had settled, only four Gems still stood on Earth. Steven Universe, the son of the Crystal Gem's heroic leader, Pearl, the determined protector, Amethyst, the Earth-made Gem, and Spinel, the kind-hearted Gem, who tends to fade into the background... Part 3 of The Continuing Adventures of Steven Universe series.
1. New Day

This takes place just after "Greg the Babysitter".

* * *

Connie loved the beach. The seagulls calling above her, the waves breaking on the shore, the pristine sand that stretched out around her. The salty breeze blowing against her face. What wasn't there to love? Though, to be completely fair, these days walking on the beach tended to also mean something else.

She glanced upwards, towards the giant stone statue that was carved out of the side of the cliff. And nestled at its base, the very familiar white beach house that Connie now seemed to spend so much of her free time at. She couldn't help but grin. It seemed like a year ago she had resigned herself to never having any friends. But now, not only did she have friends, she had probably the-

"Amethyst! For goodness sakes! Be careful with that!"

Connie chuckled under her breath as she walked up the stairs that led to the house's patio. Never a dull day at the Universe household, it seems.

Connie knocked at the screen door and less than a second later, Steven answered it, beaming practically from ear to ear. Not an unusual way to be greeted by Steven, but what was a bit strange was what he did next.

"Hi, Connie," he said, before leaning over to her and quickly planting a kiss on her cheek.

Connie was awestruck by this course action. As soon as Steven had moved away, Connie placed her hand over the spot he had kissed. It still felt warm from his presence. Or maybe that had more to do with her face rapidly reddening.

"S-Steven… Wh-what are…" Connie could barely string together a few words, so… taken was she by Steven's kiss.

Steven, though didn't seem to notice. Or if he did, he pretended not to.

"Come on in, Connie. Amethyst found something super cool while she was going through some of the stuff in her room," Steven said as he walked back into the house.

Connie numbly followed him into the house, her knees feeling just a tad unstable beneath her. She felt like her heart must have been going a million beats per second, so hard and so fast she was sure it was going to burst out of her chest. Her throat tightened and for a minute she felt like she couldn't breathe.

 _O-oh…. I'm… I'm going to pass out. Steven kissed me and-_

"You okay, Connie? You look a little tense."

Connie felt a firm hand on her shoulder.

 _Who-?_

Connie turned around to face the person who had spoken.

"Oh, Spinel," she said easily. "Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled as the embarrassment and unease over the kiss drained away from her. "Just… Still getting used to Steven's newer greetings." She cast a sly, but bashful look over at Steven, who could only blush in return.

"Ahh, you humans," Spinel said as she removed her hand from Connie's shoulder and slowly shook her head. "I don't think I'll ever understand your customs." The Gem brushed some of her light pink hair out of her eyes and folded her arms across her chest, showing her gem on the back of her hand.

"Don't worry, Spinel," Steven said. "If you ever have any questions, you can always ask me and Connie!"

Spinel gave him a lopsided grin. "When it comes to you two, all I need to do is think back to your father and Rose and I'm pretty sure I've got all the information I need."

"Spinel…" Connie groaned, her face blushing a deep red.

"Ooh, sorry, Connie," Spinel said, giving a playful wink. "Forgot that you two are still fairly new at this 'dating' thing." The Gem glanced over at Steven, who's face was the same color of deep red. She shrugged nonchalantly. "You two… Sometimes you're as bad as that show Peridot and Lapis watch. If I hadn't finally intervened you'd be like Pierre and Sophie."

"On TV?" Steven asked.

Spinel shook her head. "Spinning your wheels, hoping the other makes the first move."

"Amethyst! Please! Be gentle with it," Pearl cried, drawing Connie, Steven, and Spinel's attention over towards the kitchen island, where Pearl and Amethyst stood having their… energetic discussion.

"I am being gentle," Amethyst insisted as she ungentely pulled at the small cube in her hands. "I'm just trying to open it."

"But you're going to break it. We just need to wait for Peridot to finish the program she's coding to crack the passphrase," Pearl retorted, trying and failing, to grab the cube from Amethyst's grasp.

"Uh, I thought you said we were on a deadline?" Amethyst asked. She had stopped manhandling the cube, which Pearl took as her opportunity to swiftly scoop it out of Amethyst's grasp. "Hey! I almost had it."

Connie, Steven, and Spinel walked over to the two of them. Pearl turned towards them, a pleasant smile on her face. Amethyst meanwhile crossed her arms sulkily. The matter seemed to have been shelved.

"Hello, Connie," Pearl greeted lightly.

"Hi, Pearl. Amethyst." Connie returned.

Amethyst uncrossed her arms and looked at Connie for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. "Hey, Connie," she said.

"So… What's all the commotion about?" Connie asked, trying to sound casual. She didn't want the argument the two had been having to flare back up.

"Yeah, I get back from the barn and you two are arguing with each other," Spinel said, before snorting while continuing, "Not an uncommon occurrence, granted but still…"

"Hey, I was just trying to open the storage thing before it's fuel cells give out," Amethyst defended. "Feh, but you know what Pearl's like."

Spinel glanced over at Pearl, who was wearing a… suspiciously neutral look. "I'm… not going to say anything." She rubbed her shoulder. "Those laser shots she shoots from her spear hurt."

"I did that one time," Pearl said as she lightly stepped away from the group and towards the kitchen's central island, where she placed the cubed device. "And you deserved it."

"Heh, yeah," Spinel chuckled. "I probably did."

Connie and the others joined Pearl by the island. Now that the cube had been placed down, Connie saw that it looked rather… unimpressive. It was dark gray and had a slight sheen to it. It was also rather small, appearing slightly bigger then Connie's closed fist. But other than that, it was entirely unremarkable, no markings or openings on any of its sides.

"It seems rather… simple," Connie said, still eyeing the cube. "And small."

"Don't let its appearance fool you, Connie," Pearl said. "This is a Gem storage cube. Once the passphrase as been spoken, it can store almost any object within it."

"Course it would help if we knew the passphrase," Amethyst mumbled under her breath.

"Where'd you find it?" Connie asked.

"Amethyst found it in her room," Steven answered. "Peridot uncovered it while they were practicing with her ferrokinesis."

"Yeah. After Peri and I messed with her ferro-powers, I had to reorganize a bunch of my stuff," Amethyst explained. "Found the cube on the ground while I was. Looked important so I gave it to Spinel."

"Who gave it to Pearl, who told Peridot, who is now working on a means to open it," Spinel finished.

"I see…" Connie said.

"But that's not the good part," Amethyst continued. "If we don't get this thing open before it's fuel cells die, then anything in it will be wiped."

"Wiped?" Steven asked. "What do you mean?"

Amethyst made a cutting gesture with her hand. "I mean, completely gone."

"The device works somewhat like my Gem, in that it can store a large amount of objects, no matter their size," Pearl explained. "The major difference being that the storage cube needs an external power source. Without it, its contents will be destroyed."

"That seems like a pretty major design flaw," Connie arched an eyebrow. "Why would anyone build a storage device that destroys whatever it holds?"

"It's a fail-safe," Spinel supplied, her voice having just a hint of bitterness. "This thing was used in the Noble's Court. Paranoia reigns supreme there."

Pearl nodded. "Yes. It was made so as to prevent tampering. As I was trying to tell Amethyst," Pearl shot a pointed look over at the short Gem.

Amethyst shrugged in response. "Eh, I wasn't tampering. I was opening it."

"Right," Pearl said simply.

"So what's in it?" Connie asked.

"We're not sure," Pearl sighed. "Since it's been in Amethyst's room for who knows how long, it could be anything really."

"I bet it's something super cool," Steven said, gazing starry-eyed at the cube. "Like the location of a really awesome ancient Gem fortress!"

"I doubt that Steven," Pearl cut in. "All the major Gem strongholds have been marked, explored, and secured by us long ago. I don't think there are any more on Earth."

"I wouldn't be too sure, Pearl," Spinel said. "Homeworld liked its secrets. Bet they still do."

"Regardless, we won't find anything out about it if we don't open it," Pearl said.

"Or if its cells die," Amethyst added.

"Or if its cells die, yes."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that," Spinel said. "Peridot's good at what she does. She'll have the pass phrase cracked before the cells give out."

"Hmm…" Connie pondered. "So there's not really a whole lot for us to do, right?"

"Besides, wait?" Amethyst gave Pearl a sideways look. "Nope. Not really."

Connie grinned as she turned towards Steven. "Then do you think maybe you'd want to go on… you know… our date?"

Steven seemed surprised by her question. "Date? What do you-"

"You don't remember, Steven?" Spinel interjected as she laid a hand on Steven's shoulder. "Connie asked you yesterday if you wanted to see a movie today." She raised an eyebrow. "You know, a date?"

"Oh! Right! I'm sorry, Connie," Steven said, looking extremely embarrassed. "With everything that's been going on today, I kinda forgot…

Spinel removed her hand, sighing. "You two are hopeless."

Connie just smiled, however. "It's alright, Steven. Sometimes life can get a little… out of control."

A beat of silence.

"So… do you still want to go?"

Steven's face immediately flooded red. "Yeah! Of course! What… What movie are we going to see?"

"I was thinking about the reboot of Dogcopter," Connie said. "It's gotten surprisingly good reviews."

"Oh yeah, I've seen commercials for it." Steven dropped his tone, trying his best to sound serious and graveled voiced. "'They wanted to create the ultimate weapon. They succeeded. Now he's going to make them pay. One mile at a time'."

Connie giggled at Steven's impression of a movie trailer announcer. He alway seemed to know how to make her laugh.

"Wait, is this still based on that book series about a flying dog helping people?" Pearl asked.

"Kind of," Connie replied. "It got rebooted."

"And what's a re- Ah, forget it," Pearl said, giving her head a quick shake. "You two go have fun. We'll call you if anything turns up."

"Which means they'll send me into town to look for you," Spinel added. "So try not to wonder too far."

"We won't," Steven said as he and Connie walked towards the screen door. "I'll be home later."

"Take care now. And be safe," Pearl said.

"Yeah. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Steven," Amethyst added as the two left through the door.

* * *

Once they had reached the beach sands and had begun to walk towards the town, Connie felt Steven grab hold of her hand.

She felt her face flush as she looked over at him. Steven looked back, offering only a smile as his response. They both returned their gaze back in front of them.

I could get used to this, Connie thought to herself.

Connie was so glad she had finally just… asked Steven out on a date. It sounded so simple now, but at the time it seemed like such an insurmountable hurdle. But then she had that conversation with Spinel. What the Gem had said still echoed through her.

 _"You and Steven are made for each other!"_

 _"Well, I mean… we're good friends, but I don't know if we would… you know…"_

 _"Stars, you humans. For a species with such a limited lifespan, you spend a lot of time trying to decide what to do."_

 _"Geez, Spinel. Thanks."_

 _"Look, I'm just saying. I saw a lot during the Rebellion. Even for Gems, life can be too short to spend unhappily."_

 _"I'm not unhappy, Spinel… Well, maybe I was a little before I met Steven-"_

 _"Exactly. Come on. What's the worst he could say?"_

"What'cha thinking about, Connie?" Steven asked as they stepped onto the boardwalk.

"Just that I think I owe Spinel the biggest 'thank you' I've ever given anyone," Connie responded with a smirk.

Steven chuckled. "Yeah. Spinel's… Spinel's pretty great."

They continued walking down the boardwalk in comfortable silence. It was a perfect day. The sun was out, the gulls were calling, and the ocean breeze felt nicely refreshing. Honestly, as long as Steven didn't let go of her hand, Connie thought that this would be a perfectly perfect day.

"Well, well. If it isn't Beach City's ultimate power couple."

Their attention turned to the speaker, who was leaning on the counter at Beach Citywalk Fries.

"Hi, Peedee," Steven greeted as the couple approached the fry stall.

"Hey, Peedee," Connie said. "How's it going?"

Peedee sighed. "Can't really complain, I guess. A new batch of fries just came out of the fryer. Perfect crispiness, browning, and just the right amount of seasoning." He pushed up from the counter. "Interested?"

"Not today, Peedee," Steven said as he held up a hand. "Connie and I have a date with some overpriced concession stand snacks."

Peedee let out a low whistle. "Well if I knew you two had somewhere to be, I wouldn't have kept you." He gave an easy, good-natured grin. "Maybe someday, I'll have someone special in my life. But for now, the only one I need is the deep fryer." His eyes then suddenly shot open in realization as he ducked behind the counter. "Ooh! Hold on a second, Steven. My dad made something for you and the Gems… Ah, here it is."

Peedee emerged from behind the counter with a plate with a clear plastic lid over it. On the plate were what looked like many french fries, except they were arranged in such a way so as to look like a star.

"Dad wanted to give this to you guys. As a sort of, 'Thanks for stopping that rampaging monster from destroying the town the other day' gift," Peedee said as he pushed the covered meal across the counter over to Steven.

"Fryman doesn't have to do that," Steven said. "Saving the day's what the Gems do."

Peedee, however, simply rolled his eyes. "Come on, Steven. You, me, Connie, Dad, and everyone in town knows that without the Gems, Beach City would have been reduced to a pile rubble already. Heck, even the whole world might have been." Steven said nothing in return, only looking embarrassedly at the gift.

Connie grinned amusedly at her companion. She loved that the town appreciated its protectors, especially considering what Spinel and Pearl had told her once. That, before Steven was born, the Gems tended to stay away from the townsfolk and they, in turn, stayed away from the Gems. But then Steven had started to facilitate connections between the two groups and… well, the Gems started to get handcrafted meals from the Frymans, as well as other gifts of thanks as appreciation from people in town.

It meant a lot to her personally, as well. Connie knew what it was like to try and make someone understand the importance of the Gems work. But finally, after a rocky start, Connie's parents had come around to the idea of their daughter helping the Gems. So much in fact, that Connie had nearly passed out last time she had left her house for training with Pearl and her mother had told her, apropos of nothing, how proud she was of Connie for helping the Gems. When she had told Steven what her mother had said, Steven had thought that Connie was kidding, but she hadn't been.

Her parents were proud of what she was doing. It was like a…

Like a dream had come true, really.

"Peedee, I can't really take this with us," Steven said as he held the covered fries. "The movie theater doesn't allow outside food or drink."

"But you got to, Steven," Peedee insisted. "If you don't, my dad is gonna be really cross."

Steven said nothing, only looking down at the fries in silent contemplation.

"How about this," Connie said, an idea forming in her head. "Can you bubble it, and then you send it back to the temple?"

"That's a great idea, Connie!" Steven exclaimed. He sat the fry plate back on the counter and, with only a flick of his fingers, surrounded it with a pink, transparent bubble. Steven picked it up, causing it to float gently a few inches above his hands.

"Man, I never get tired of seeing stuff like that," Peedee said as Steven tapped the top of the bubble, causing it to disappear.

"Then you certainly live in the right town," Connie said.

"Yeah, that I do…" Peedee trailed off while making a "shooing" motion with his hand. "Get going. You don't want to miss the previews."

"Right, thanks, Peedee!" Steven said as the pair began to walk off. "And say thanks to Fryman for me."

"Will do, Steven. Have fun you two!"

* * *

"Two for Dogcopter, please."

"Uh… yeah, I can't do that," the teen girl behind the ticket window said.

"Why not? Are you sold out?" Connie asked.

"No…" the cashier arched an eyebrow. "The movie's rated PG-16. No one under sixteen is admitted without an adult."

"PG-16? Why is the Dogcopter movie rated PG-16?" Steven asked.

"I dunno," the cashier replied indigently. "Probably because some movie studio executive decided it should be." She sighed as she leaned against the counter. "Look, I don't make the movies, I just sell tickets to them. And I can't let you two in without an adult. I'm sorry."

Steven sighed in resignation. "Alright, thanks anyway." He turned from the ticket window and walked to the edge of the curb. He sat on it, resting his head in his hands. He sighed again as Connie sat next to him. "I'm sorry, Connie."

Connie grabbed his hand and held it firmly. "It's alright, Steven," she said as he turned towards her. She smiled brightly as she continued, "I'm the one who asked you to go to the movies, after all. We can just… go do something else."

"Like what?"

Before Connie could answer, however, she noted three long shadows covered them.

"Steven and Connie. What are you two doing, all sad on the sidewalk?" asked a low and leveled voice. Connie turned and saw the tall visage of Buck, Jenny, and Sour Cream. The Cool Kids.

"Oh, hey guys," Steven said, not bothering to turn around. "Connie and I were going to see a movie, but we can't… I mean, why is a Dogcopter movie rated PG-16 anyway?"

"Feh, just a desperate attempt to pander to my generation," Sour Cream said simply.

"Wait, hold on a minute," Jenny said, holding up a hand. "Steven, did you say you and Connie were gonna see a movie?"

Steven turned towards The Cool Kids and nodded.

"So… Does that mean you two are on a… date?" Jenny asked, her voice dropping to a whisper on the last word.

Steven and Connie said nothing, though the looks on their faces must have been enough of a confirmation.

Jenny squealed with delight. "I knew it, I knew it! Spinel ran into us the other day and she mentioned that she had a talk with Connie about Steven and I told these two, 'I bet they're gonna go on a date soon'." She looked over at Sour Cream. "And you said they weren't going to."

The teen grimaced as he responded, "I didn't say that. Only that I wondered if they could make time in between hero work with the Gems."

"Today was a light day," Connie said. "Not much to do really…"

"The day is only what you make of it," Buck said cooly. "You shouldn't let your youthful drive die away like this."

"But we can't get into the movie," Steven said. "And this was supposed to be a special day together…"

Buck crouched down to their level and laid a hand on either of their shoulders. "The day can still be special if you're willing to make it that way."

They were silent for a moment, each pondering their own ideas, when Sour Cream spoke, "Why don't you just do that thing you do? You know, that… thing." He pushed his hands together, interlocking his fingers.

"Oh, yeah. That thing where you two become one person," Jenny said. "They'd probably be able to get in."

Steven immediately perked up at the suggestion. "Of, course! Stevonnie could get in easily." He stood up, offering a hand to Connie, who took it kindly. "Thanks, guys. You just saved out movie day."

"It's not a problem, Steven," Buck said, returning to his full standing height. "You and the Gems save the town every day."

"Yeah, the least we can do is return the favor every now and then," Jenny added. "Besides… you two are just too cute together," she said with a smirk.

Connie could feel her face begin to flush.

Partly because it felt good to see Beach City appreciate Steven and the Gems.

And partly because she loved being called a part of a cute couple.

"Alright, we should probably give you privacy to do your thing," Buck said. "We'll catch you later, Steven. Connie." The Cool Kids began to walk away, waving back to them as they did. When they had finally disappeared down the street, Connie turned towards Steven, who already had a small smile on his face.

"Let's turn the corner before we fuse," Connie said. "So we can get a little…'privacy'." Both of them giggled together. It felt like they were in a movie themselves. A RomCom where two childhood friends reunite and fall for each other.

 _This… this does feel like a movie. Everything happened so… perfectly._

Steven once again took Connie's hand into his own as the two walked down the sidewalk and quickly turned the corner. As expected, the small side street they found themselves on was completely deserted. A perfect fusing location.

There was no need for a quick fusion. There was no enemy (or Holo-Pearl) bearing down on them. There was only themselves.

Neither said anything as they began. They just smiled at each other and… began to dance. Slowly, a bit unassuredly at first. Not because they were fearful, at least not of each other. But this was their first fusion dance as…

 _…a couple? Is that what we are now? We are out on a date now… But…_

Steven drew Connie close and, for a moment, just held her there. He was going to do… something.

No. Connie knew what it was. The way his eyes locked on her and his mouth trembled revealed that.

Without even fully processing the thought, Connie leaned in and kissed Steven on the lips.

 _His lips are really soft_ , she thought as she closed her eyes and felt her heart flutter in her chest. Connie felt Steven's hand brush against her shoulder. For a moment, Connie was afraid he was going to pull away, but he didn't.

Instead, it felt so right. Everything about the kiss did.

But in that moment, what struck Connie the most was that she didn't realize how much she had wanted to kiss Steven until she did. But now that she had, she couldn't imagine feeling any other way.

Just like in a movie.

—

As soon as they had fused, Stevonnie felt like they needed to sit down. They could feel their heart pounding away in their chest and their knees quaking under them.

"That… was an incredible fusion," Stevonnie said softly to themselves as they pressed their back against the side of the wall in order to hold themselves up. "That was… so incredible…" Stevonnie repeated.

After several minutes of gathering themselves, the fusion pushed off against the wall and stood fully on their own two feet. "The movie," they said. "I still need to see the movie." They took their first step, only to feel the warm concrete of the sidewalk on their bare feet. "Steven and Connie's shoes…" Stevonnie moaned as they gathered both Steven's flip-flops and Connie's tennis shoes. "I need to do something with these… Oh! I know." The fusion held both pairs of shoes in their hands and with only a little concentration, formed a pink bubble around them. "Heh, off you go," they said as they lightly tapped the bubble, causing it to disappear. Stevonnie waited a moment as they grinned to themselves. "Hopefully Garnet doesn't notice these new additions until Steven and Connie get back to the temple." They then turned delicately on their heel and turned the corner towards the theater.

As they approached the theater, Stevonnie did their best to calm the butterflies in their stomach. Part of the reason said butterflies were fluttering in their stomach was just the residual… feeling of their fusion. The other was because Stevonnie was kind of nervous the girl in the ticket window will know somehow that they were a fusion. And that their two components weren't old enough to see the movie. But that would be ridiculous. Only Steven's dad and Sadie knew anything about fusion.

"Can I help you?" the girl asked from behind the glass.

"Yes, I'd like tw- I mean one for Dogcopter," Stevonnie said, trying to sound as mature as they could manage.

"Of course," the girl said. She pressed a button and a ticket was dispersed out the window. Stevonnie grabbed it and held it tightly. "That will be seven dollars and twenty-four cents" Stevonnie silently reached into their pocket, removed several bills and handed them to the ticket teen, who handed back some coins as change. "Enjoy the show," she said.

"Right, thanks," Stevonnie returned, using all of their willpower to not breaking into a run as they entered the movie theater.

The smell of popcorn and fake butter sauce assaulted Stevonnie's nose immediately. Since it was during a weekend, a number of people milled around the lobby, waiting for their movie to start and wasting quarters at a claw machine game.

They began to make their way to the theater where the movie was going to be. Standing at the entrance to the hall leading to all the theaters was another bored looking teenager. He seemed to perk up a little as Stevonnie approached.

"Hello," he greeted lightly. "Ticket?" Stevonnie handed him their ticket. He glanced at it before tearing it slightly and handing it back to them. "Theater six, on your right. Enjoy the movie."

Stevonnie gave the teen a nod as they walked past him.

 _Theater four, theater five, theater- Ah! Here we are._

Stevonnie entered theater six. The previews had just begun. As they made their way to the center row, Stevonnie glanced around the theater. No one else was here.

"Guess Dogcopter isn't doing as well as Connie thought," Stevonnie said to themselves. After picking out the row that was perfectly in the middle of the theater, Stevonnie sat down in the surprisingly comfortable seat. They thought briefly about diffusing but ultimately decided against it, partly out of fear that Steven and Connie could be caught in a movie they weren't supposed to be watching and partly because… well, they didn't want to. This was their date after all. They could enjoy it how they wanted.

Date.

The word made Stevonnie blush deeply. They were on a date with themselves, basically at this point.

Though, if Garnet were here, she'd probably say that Stevonnie was the date. Or something like that.

 _Note to self: Ask Garnet about her thoughts on fusion dating,_ Stevonnie grinned to themselves as the lights in the theater dimmed and the movie began.

* * *

Stevonnie ended up watching the movie twice. Not because the movie was good, quite the opposite. The movie had not just been bad, but it had been laugh-out-loud terrible. So much so, Stevonnie had decided to stay and watch the movie through again just to confirm how bad it was. And indeed, it was just as laughably terrible as it had been the first time. Not that Stevonnie was complaining. They had thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The movie had, at several points had them on their knees in the aisle laughing so hard the couldn't breathe. Even as they now walked along the beach, they were giggling to themselves, questioning who thought this movie was a good idea.

"It must have done something right," Stevonnie said to themselves. "I watched it twice in a row."

They looked over at the ocean. The sun was hanging low in the sky. Connie needed to get home soon, before her parents started panicking.

As Stevonnie came to the stairs that led up to Steven's house, they paused, looking down at sand covered bare feet and saying, "This was… fun. And… really nice. It was great," they said awkwardly. "Here, let's diffuse. Then we can… talk face to face." Stevonnie closed their eyes, letting the familiar tingling sensation wash over them

—

Steven caught himself as he stumbled back from the diffusion. He looked over at Connie, who was also regaining her balance.

For a while, neither of them said anything. They just looked at each other.

Finally, Connie broke the tension. "Well, I had a great time, Steven," she said with a small, shy smile.

"Yeah, me too," Steven agreed. "That was… that was probably the best time I've had seeing a movie."

Connie seemed a little surprised. "Really?" she asked.

Steven nodded his head. "Sure," he replied. "I mean, the movie wasn't that great…"

"It was terrible," Connie laughed.

Steven laughed in return. "Yeah. It was," he admitted. "But I still had a really great time."

"Yeah. I did too, Steven," Connie returned.

Silence.

"So…" Steven said.

"So…?" Connie replied.

Steven was silent for a beat. "I guess we should get your shoes before you head home."

"Yeah. Good idea," Connie said simply.

Steven made his way to the stairs and had placed a foot on the first step when he heard Connie say softly, "Steven. Wait." He stopped and turned around. Connie had her eyes planted firmly on the ground and an… upset look on her face.

"Steven," she said, her voice heavy with emotion. "I'm… I'm sorry about the kiss… If… you think I went too far…"

"W-what?! No, I don't-…." Steven stumbled over his words, unable to fully structure how he felt. "I mean… I don't think you went… you know. Too far."

"Y-you don't?"

"No, of course not! Why would I?"

Connie looked up from the ground, tear stains distinctly visible across her cheeks. "Because… I mean… we were just standing there and… I thought you were going to and… then you didn't…"

Steven walked over to Connie's side. "We both kinda got wrapped up in the moment. And… we kissed."

"A real kiss," Connie added.

"Yeah. A real kiss. But now that it's done…" He gave a smile, bashful smile. "I think I liked it."

Connie's breath caught in her throat as her face began to turn bright red. "You… Well, I think I liked it too." Connie looked away from him for a moment before saying, "We probably need to… talk about this… about us more."

"What do you mean?" Steven asked.

"Like, are we dating now? Is that… something we want? We're already really good friends, but… is there something more between us?"

Steven was silent in return.

Dating Connie.

It was an idea Steven had already had, though he never gave it any real thought. Not because he found the idea disagreeable, but because even in the confines of his own mind, the idea of being Connie's… boyfriend was a little… unnerving. More so than anything Steven could think of.

"I guess… we should talk more," Steven said finally. "But it's getting late. And we don't want your parents to drive over here looking for you. Again," he added with a sly smile.

Connie grinned in return. "No, we really don't."

"Come on," Steven beckoned as he began to head back to the stairs. "Let's grab your shoes and see if we can find Lion so I can take you home on the express route."

Connie followed closely behind him. "Thanks, Steven," she said.

The two made their way up the steps in somewhat comfortable silence. They reached the screen door, Steven pushing it open and allowing Connie to go in first, him following behind her.

"Goodness, there you two are." Steven had barely entered the house when Pearl frantically rushed over to them.

"'Bout time you got back," Amethyst said as she lazed on the couch. "Pearl's been pacing for over an hour now."

Pearl shot her a look. "I was just… hoping they were okay," Pearl countered.

"Pfft. Yeah, sure," Amethyst blew off. "Face it, you wanted to know how their date went."

"D-date?!" Connie and Steven stuttered in near unison.

"Heck yeah, dudes," Amethyst said, rolling off the couch and onto her feet. "Gotta give those juicy details now."

"Amethyst, please," Pearl chided. "They've no doubt had a long day." She turned back to face the two. "Connie," she said lightly. "I've already called your parents. They know you're going to stay the night here."

"Wait…" Connie replied slowly. "My parents said I could… spend the night?" She glanced over at Steven, who had an equally confused look on his face. "And they didn't rush over with… like an overnight bag, or something?"

Pearl chuckled. "Connie, your parents know we'll take care of you. It's just one night." She stood up and began to head into the kitchen. "Are you two hungry? I could make you something to eat if you want."

"Ooh, you can make me something to eat, P," Amethyst said. "I'm starving."

"Uhh, that's alright…" Steven said, the extreme confusion and unease about the situation apparent in his voice. "Where's Garnet? We need to get into the Bubble Room."

"Uh, who?" Amethyst asked, giving him a lopsided look.

The question was so unexpected, Steven found himself unable to make a response.

"Garnet. You know, tall, sunglasses, always stays fused? That Garnet?" Connie asked.

"And she's a Gem?" Pearl asked as she shut the refrigerator door. "Are you sure?" she asked confusedly.

"Y-yeah. She's a Crystal Gem!" Steven said as panic began to surge throughout his body.

 _W-what's going on?! Where's Garnet?! Why don't Pearl and Amethyst know who-_

"I don't know what you two were doing on your date," Amethyst said as she gave Steven a strange look, "but just a refresher. Assuming we're not counting Peri and Lapis, the Crystal Gems are you, me, Pearl, and-"

The sound of the warp pad activating cut Amethyst off.

"Hey, guys. What's going on?"

"Yo, Spinel," Amethyst greeted. "Nothing much, 'cept Steven and Connie are acting all weird."

The completely unfamiliar person-

 _No, a Gem. Her gem is on the back of her hand._

The completely unfamiliar Gem, brushed some wayward strands of hair out of her eyes as she spoke, "Oh yeah?" She smirked at the two of them. "The date go that well?"

"We're not really sure," Pearl responded. "They came in and after I told them Connie's parents said she could spend the night, they started asking for a Gem named Garnet."

The unfamiliar Gem was silent for a beat. Her face still had a pleasant expression on it, but her eyes… A shadow had crossed over them.

"Are they now?" the gem asked, slowly folding her arms across her chest. "How… odd."

Steven gulped as he felt sweat crawl down the side of his face. He tried to look brave and unaffected in the face of this… situation, but…

He knew he was failing.

* * *

 **A/N: I've had the idea for this fic for a while now and thus, I'm super excited for it. Hopefully it will all turn out well in the end.**

 **Thanks for the read and, as always, critical feedback is welcomed!**


	2. Unwinding

"Uh, you alright, Ste-Man?" Amethyst asked.

Steven didn't answer, couldn't answer even. His entire attention was focused on the strange and frankly frightening Gem who was slowly walking over to Connie and himself. The Gems expression remained impeccable, but something in her eyes... There was a strange glint in them.

"W-who are… who are you…" Steven stammered out.

"Come on, Steven," the Gem said. "I know I sometimes blend into the background, but surely you remember who I am. Spinel? Been here since long before you were born?" When Steven remained silent, she cast her gaze over to Connie. "Surely you remember me, right Connie? We did just have our heart-to-heart a few days ago."

"I-... I don't know..." Connie stumbled and then trailed off.

Steven instinctively took a step forward, putting himself just ahead of Connie. He could feel Connie brace her hands against his back.

 _Defensive Jam Buds positioning. Just like we practiced with Pearl_ , Steven thought.

"You two must be really wound up," Pearl said as she walked from the kitchen. "Hmm..." she hummed as she tapped the corner of her mouth. "Rose did come back from her times with Greg a little... disoriented at times."

"Yeah, especially early on," Amethyst added. "When they were like, kissing and holding each other and stuff..."

"That's true," Spinel agreed, her eyes never wavering from Steven. "Still, he looks a little pale... Here, let me feel your forehead, Steven. See if you have a temperature."

The Gem began approaching again, her hand outstretched. Steven stood frozen, not knowing what to do. Was this Gem going to attack him and Connie? And if so, would Pearl and Amethyst just... stand there and watch? That was probably the most frightening thought to Steven. That two of the people he trusted the most wouldn't help him if he got in trouble.

The Gem was almost on top of them. Steven could feel Connie shift behind him.

"It's alright, Steven. Just a quick-"

"No! Don't touch us!"

The proclamation actually stopped the Gem in her tracks as even she seemed surprised by what Steven had said.

"Really, Steven!" Pearl chided. "You were out late. Spinel just wants to make sure you're not running a fever or any such thing."

"Uh, he's out later with us on missions all the time," Amethyst interjected.

"Well, yes," Pearl conceded. "But..." She grimaced. "I've seen the floors of those theaters. They're disgusting. It's a wonder Steven and Connie wouldn't get sick there."

"W-well why don't you take our temperature, Pearl?" Steven quickly suggested. "You're always good at that."

A somewhat self satisfied smile spread across Pearl's face as she began to walk to the pair. "Hm. Yes, I can do that. You don't mind, right Spinel?"

Spinel's eyes darted from Steven and then back to Pearl. "Oh, of course not." She smiled at Steven. "Just as long as someone does. We don't want our two special Crystal Gems getting sick."

Pearl bent down in front of Steven, laying her hand first against his forehead and then against Connie's.

"Ninety-eight point three and ninety-eight point five," Pearl said, standing back up. "No fever, though both of you do feel rather clammy."

"It's because of our date," Connie replied, sounding remarkably composed, at least to Steven. "We actually, um... well, we kissed each other during the movie."

Steven felt like his heart skipped a beat as Connie spoke. He gulped hard as, for just the briefest of moments, the terrifying problem of this unknown Gem was replaced by the sheer embarrassment of Steven and Connie's shared kiss being revealed.

Pearl and Amethyst, meanwhile, acted more or less as he would have guessed they would.

"Oh my stars..." Pearl gasped as she covered her mouth with her hands. "You and Steven... kissed?"

"Like... A real kiss? On the mouth?" Amethyst asked.

Connie nodded.

Amethyst quickly rushed over towards the pair. "That's... oh man, that's just... wow. Way to go, dudes." she said, giving them two thumbs up.

"I can't believe it," Pearl said, wiping the corner of her eye. "Our little Steven is growing up..."

"How was it, guys?" the purple Gem asked with a snide grin. "Was it 'magical'? That's what Rose always described it when she kissed Greg."

Steven felt as if his face might catch fire, it was burning so warmly and brightly.

"Oh, Amethyst. There's no need for that," Pearl cut in, much to Steven's relief.

"So... when you kissed..." Spinel asked, causing Steven's mind to shift back to the more immediate problem. "You two didn't like, fuse or anything, right?" She had a... indiscernible look on her face.

Steven was silent for a beat before he answered. "No. We didn't."

Her easy smile seemed to falter a bit as Spinel shrugged her shoulders before saying, "Shame. Fusing seems like the perfect way to cap off a first kiss." She paused for a moment. "Steven and Connie can't fuse, can they?" she asked, the tone in her voice feeling just a little... different than it had before.

"Uh, yeah. Course they can. You've met Stevonnie, Spinel," Amethyst responded.

"That's right," Pearl confirmed. "All three of us were here they fused for the first time." Pearl tossed her a sideways look. "I can't believe you'd forget that."

That easily unsettling smile returned to Spinel's face. "Oh, I didn't, of course," Spinel chuckled. "You know how it is. Being a record-keeper most of my life means occasionally getting my memories mixed up with others."

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Feh, is that your excuse for not remembering the donuts I wanted you to get the other day? So you came home with nothing but boring old glazed?"

Spinel rubbed the back of her neck. "Ah, well that and I probably should have written your order down. Besides, you still ate them."

Amethyst snorted, "Well yeah. Not gonna waste perfectly good donuts," she grinned.

"Alright, alright," Pearl said as she waved Amethyst and Spinel away. "I'm sure both of them are tired from all the... excitement they've had today." She turned back towards the two of them. "Connie, I believe we have a spare set of sleep clothes for Steven that you can wear, if you want."

"O-oh. Um, sure why not?" Connie replied.

"Okay, I think they're in the closet over here..." Pearl quickly crossed over to one of the closets under the stairs.

As Pearl searched through Steven's spare wardrobe, Steven looked back over at Spinel and Amethyst. Spinel remained calm, that unnerving smile still fixed in place. Amethyst, however, was making exaggerated kissing faces towards Steven and Connie. When Steven noticed her, Amethyst grinned broadly as she elbowed Spinel. The Gem smirked at Amethyst and then at Steven and Connie, before she began to walk towards the back of the house.

"I'm heading to the barn to see if Peridot needs anymore help tonight," she said as she lightly stepped on the warp pad. "I'll probably be back sometime tomorrow."

"Alright, we'll see you tomorrow, Spinel," Pearl replied without removing herself from the closet.

Spinel gave a small wave, before light shot up from the warp pad and she was gone.

Steven instantly felt more at ease and so did Connie, if the heavy sigh she let go of was any indication. Not that Steven felt completely at ease, of course.

 _Who was that? Pearl and Amethyst called her Spinel and seemed to know her, but I've never seen her before. What... what's going on? And what am I going to do now?_

The worry must have been visible on Steven's face, as he felt Connie grab his hand and hold it firmly. She looked towards her and she smiled such a soft, sweet smile that Steven felt some of the tension inside him loosen.

It wasn't what he was going to do.

It's what they were going to do.

* * *

It was later that night that Connie found herself lying on a makeshift bed, cobbled together out of spare blankets and wearing a pair of light blue pajamas that, like Pearl suspected, were too big for her. An odd situation perhaps, but none of it really concerned Connie. What concerned her was the same thing that concerned Steven. She knew this, despite the fact that neither of them had really spoken since Pearl had informed them that she was going to retire to her room for the evening and Amethyst said she was going to go hang out at the barn. Despite now having the house to themselves, Steven and Connie were still silent.

Connie's head was a whirring mess of thoughts and ideas that shot through her mind. She tried desperately to make sense of... everything that had just happened. Spinel, Garnet's disappearance, Pearl and Amethyst not remembering Garnet, but somehow seemingly knowing this Spinel...

What was going on?

Finally, after several minutes of just laying there, Connie sat up and said simply, "What was the last thing you remember, Steven?"

Connie turned her head to the side and saw Steven sitting up in his bed. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Before we got back to the house," Connie explained. "What was the last thing you remember?"

"Oh. Well... I remember seeing the movie while we were fused... And I remember us actually fusing... And the... the kiss..."

Connie squeezed the hem of her cover. "Okay so, the movie, fusing, and... the kiss. What else?"

"Um..." Steven pondered. "Well I... I remember kinda healing Centipeetle, I remember being on that boat with Dad and Lapis, and I remember my dad telling me the story about how he started working at the carwash."

Connie nodded. She remembered him telling her about all those events as well. "What about something a little more recent? What were you doing this morning, before I came over?"

"Hmm... This morning I was-" Steven closed his eyes as he grimaced. "I... can't really remember..."

"Can you remember anything about this morning?" Connie asked.

Steven reopened his eyes and looked over at Connie. "No... nothing. Do you?"

Connie nodded again. "I woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, did my chores, and then caught the bus heading to Beach City," Connie listed off her fingers. "Then I walked down the pier, walked further down the beach to the temple and-" Connie gasped suddenly as she recalled something that had completely slipped her mind. "When you answered the door to let me in, you kissed me!"

"I-I did?!" Steven visibly jumped in his bed as he heard what Connie said.

"Yes! Or... you kissed me on the cheek," Connie clarified.

"Oh... that's..." he trailed off.

"You don't remember that, Steven?" Connie asked.

"No, not at all. I just... opened the door and kissed you?"

"On the cheek."

"Yeah, on the cheek..." Steven shook his head as he looked down at his covered lap. "Just like the rest of the morning... I don't remember that..." He looked back at Connie. "What happened after that?"

"Well..." Connie began. "I was a little... taken aback. But then I remember going into your house and then... nothing. The next memory I have is us fusing."

Once she was finished, silence descended upon them again. There were holes in their memories. And what's worse, Steven's seemed to be bigger than Connie's. But how big was it...

"Steven," she said. "What's the absolute last memory you have before the blank spot?"

Steven was silent for several seconds as he pondered the question. "Well..." he said finally. "I remember sitting on the couch... I had the latest issue of 'The M-People' that I was going to give to Peridot... and then..." He slowly shook his head. "I remember us fusing just before the movie."

"And do you remember what day that was?"

"Yeah. It was... Thursday."

"Steven! Then... do you know what today is?"

"Uhh... Friday?" Steven asked, clearly knowing that he was wrong.

"Today's Sunday, Steven."

"S-Sunday?!" Steven replied, a look of shock and horror stretched over his face. "But... then what happened Friday and Saturday?"

Neither of them said anything to answer the question. The answer, at least in it's simplest form, was already known.

"So what do we do now?" Connie asked. "I'm missing a small part of my memory, but you're missing two whole days."

"Spinel... Do you… Do you think she did this?" Steven said. "But how... You don't think she's... controlling Pearl and Amethyst, do you?"

Connie pursed her lips at the thought. "I'm not really sure. Maybe? She must be exerting some kind of influence over them. That's why they remember her, but not Garnet..." She paused a moment. "Maybe that's why we have blank spots in our memories… Spinel was controlling us, but we broke free... somehow…"

Steven was silent in response. He looked as if he were deep in thought.

"Why don't we do this…" Connie said. "Let's list what we know for sure."

"Okay," Steven said slowly. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

"Alright. First: after the movie was the first time either of us had met Spinel."

Steven nodded.

"Second: Both of us do remember Garnet."

"Yep. And that Garnet is a fusion between Ruby and Sapphire," Steven added.

"Right. Third: We both have blank spots in our memories."

Steven nodded again.

"And fourth…" Connie trailed off as a new thought revealed itself in her mind. "Steven…" she said softly. "What Pearl said… about my parents. They said I could spend the night…"

"Right," Steven replied, clearly not seeing what Connie was getting at.

"If my parents did decide that I could stay the night… They would have rushed over an overnight bag. I mean, you remember what it was like when I stayed over at the barn for a night," Connie carefully explained.

Steven nodded slowly. "Hmm… Yeah, you're right. That… is kinda weird…"

"So… now I'm… I'm worried. Did Spinel… do something to my parents?" Connie said as a note of panic began to rise in her voice. "Is-... Is Spinel controlling my parents like she is Pearl and Amethyst? O-or did she-!" Connie felt her breath catch in her throat as she was unable to finish the thought.

The idea that something had happened to her parents…

All because Connie was involved with Gem Business…

Connie's expression must have said clearly what she was feeling, however, as Steven quickly scampered off of his bed and sat down next to her on the bundle of blankets.

Just as Connie began to feel the first tears overflow her eyes, she felt Steven's arm wrap around her shoulders.

"It's… It's alright, Connie," he said haltingly, but gently.

It was a platitude, and a fairly meaningless one too, if Connie were being honest with herself. There was a Gem neither of them had seen before walking around like she owned the place, something was wrong with Pearl and Amethyst, Garnet was missing, and now her parents might be-

So no. The situation the two now found themselves in was not "alright".

And yet despite that, as Steven pulled Connie just a little bit closer to himself, Connie did begin to feel just a little better.

"Thanks, Steven," she said genuinely.

A few seconds of silence passed.

"Do you think we should… go to your house? You know, to check on your parents?" Steven asked.

"Maybe…" Connie replied. "But… what if Spinel comes back here and we're both gone? She seems kind of… docile now, but we probably shouldn't try and provoke her."

"Yeah… Ooh! I know. You can just call your parents on your cell phone," Steven suggested.

Connie shot up onto her feet, so fast that it actually knocked Steven over. "That's a great idea, Steven! Here…" She rushed down the stairs, her eyes shooting over to the coffee table.

Earlier, once Connie had had changed into the too-big-for-her-pajamas, Pearl had offered to wash and dry the clothes Connie had worn that day. Still feeling dazed and confused over what had just transpired with Spinel, Connie had numbly accepted. Before she disappeared, Pearl had removed Connie's cell phone from her pants pocket and had set it on the coffee table.

For an instant, Connie was afraid that her phone wouldn't be there. That Spinel had somehow managed to get back into the house without either of them knowing and then had taken the phone.

But luckily, Connie's fear proved to be untrue. Her phone was just sitting on the coffee table, as it had been since Pearl placed it there. Connie quickly grabbed it, and hit the pound sign followed by one. She placed the phone up to her ear and could hear the steady ringing on the other end. Steven had caught up with her at this point. He stood silently behind her, his worried expression mirroring Connie's own.

After so many rings, Connie began to worriedly wonder how many there would be before the answering machine picked up. But soon enough, the ringing stopped and there was a soft click followed by a very familiar voice.

"Maheswaran residence. Doug speaking."

"Dad?! Is that you?" Connie cried, more forcefully than she had intended.

"Connie?" her father asked. Just by the tone of his voice, Connie could perfectly imagine the expression on his face. It was the same expression he got whenever something unexpected happened to him. "Is that you? Is-... are you alright, dear? What's happened?"

"N-nothing, Dad," Connie replied. "I… This is going to sound weird, but… Do you know where I am right now?"

There was a brief pause on the other end, before her father responded slowly, "You're at Steven's house, spending the night. You are still there, right?"

"Yeah, I am," Connie said. "And Mom… Is she there with you?"

"Yes, she just got home from a late shift at the hospital," her father answered. "Are... you sure you're okay, Connie? I can come and pick you up if you need me to."

Connie paused and considered the thought a moment.

 _I could go home. Steven could take me on Lion and I'd be back in minutes. Then I could see them and make sure they're okay and… maybe stay with them through the night… But…_

She glanced over her shoulder at Steven, who still stood behind her.

 _But then I'd be leaving Steven here alone with Spinel. And what if she did something to-…_

"No, that's okay, Dad. I… I just wanted to check in." Connie gave a forced chuckle. "It's kinda unusual that you would let me stay the night without an overnight bag, or anything."

"You're just staying with the Steven and the Gems. If they can protect a town, they can look after you for an evening."

"Right…" Connie responded a bit uncertainly. "Well, tell Mom I called."

"I will, Connie. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm sure, Dad… Good-night. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright. Good-night, Connie."

Connie heard a click and then the dial tone as her father was gone. She slowly lowered the phone from her ear as she hit the "end call" button, though even with the call over, she still held the phone tightly in her hands.

"Well?" Steven asked as he now walked over to her side. "Are they… okay?"

"I… I'm not sure…" Connie replied. "Dad… basically reaffirmed everything Pearl said. They both know I'm here, they don't think sending an overnight bag was necessary, and… he said something about the Gems protecting the town, and so they can manage to look after me for an evening."

Steven said nothing in return. His expression was just as confused and uncertain as Connie felt.

Silently, Connie made her way over to the couch and sat down, her phone still firmly in her grasp. Steven followed her over and sat closely next to her.

After several more seconds of silence, Connie finally spoke, "Something happened to my parents, just like Pearl and Amethyst." She shook her head. "They would never let me stay anywhere without an overnight bag. And Dad just seemed too… relaxed about me staying here." She pursed her lips. "And he can be even more uptight than Mom…" Connie trailed off as she put her phone back on the coffee table. "Whatever's going on, it's spread beyond Beach City… And now my parents are involved…"

"Then… we need to go to your house. So we can…" Steven trailed off, coming to the same conclusion Connie had.

"There's no reason too," Connie said. "We don't know even really know what's going on. Spinel's probably involved somehow, but what she's doing, or helping to do, or whatever… We don't know how to stop it. If we went over there, all we'd do is arouse suspicion in Spinel."

"If Spinel is involved, I think she probably already knows that we've broken free," Steven replied. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "The way she looked at us…" Steven visibly shuddered with the memory.

Connie nodded slowly. "Yeah. You're probably right, Steven."

"And besides," Steven continued, "don't you have school tomorrow?"

"Oh, Man!" Connie said, grimacing as she remembered. "Yeah. You're right… And I doubt even my parents are brainwashed enough to let me miss a day."

Steven gave a small laugh. "Yeah, probably not. You remember what happened that time you were a few minutes late getting home?"

Connie grinned in return. "Oh, yes. That was before they knew where you lived, so they were just going up to everyone in town asking if they'd seen me." Connie rested her face in her hands, her grin still plastered on her face. "That was so embarrassing…" She sighed heavily before leaning back in her seat. A mighty yawn swept over her and suddenly Connie realized how truly tired she was. Though, after the day she had, that wasn't really surprising.

"I guess since I've got school tomorrow, I probably should go home." She yawned again. "Or… Maybe I just will first thing in the morning…"

"Yeah… Okay," Steven yawned in return. "You wanna… go back up to the loft?"

Connie rested her head against the back of the couch, before shifting in such a way that she was leaning partially against Steven. It felt… comforting to know that, after everything that had happened today, after feeling isolated from her friends and even from her parents…

It was comforting to know that Steven was still here.

That she wasn't alone.

"Let's just… sit here a bit longer…" Connie replied drowsily. Her eyes slowly closed, her vision of the the house clouding and disappearing until finally, sleep had claimed her.

* * *

"Wake up, now. It's morning."

Their eyes opened and they saw Pearl bent down in front of them, her face just a few inches away from their own.

"W-what… Pearl? What going…" they said, the dregs of sleep still clinging to them.

However, all the tiredness drained immediately from their system as they heard their voice. They had expected to hear Steven's or maybe Connie's but not their own…

"Well, well. Finally awake," Pearl said as she stood back at her full height. "You better hurry. Connie's got school in little over an hour."

Stevonnie said nothing, only letting random and confused sounds tumble out of their mouth. Pearl only gave them a thin smirk.

"Hmm… So I assume you didn't intend to wake up fused, then?" Pearl asked as she lightly stepped away.

"Uh… no. I… I didn't…" Stevonnie said slowly, regaining control of their voice. "Steven and Connie fell asleep on the couch and… I woke up."

Pearl spoke as she walked over to the kitchen island, "Steven and Connie can fuse so easily, I'm not surprised they can do it quite literally in their sleep." She picked up a small pile of folded clothes and walked them over to the couch and placed them on the coffee table. "Though, I can imagine it's a little bit disorienting."

"Yeah… A little…" They looked at the pile on the coffee table in front of them. "Oh, Connie's clothes," Stevonnie said. "Thanks, Pearl," they smiled softly.

"It's no problem at all," Pearl waved off. "Now while you-"

Pearl was cut off, however, by the sound of the warp pad activating and a chillingly cheerful voice calling throughout the house.

"Good morning, everyone!"

"Ah, good morning, Spinel," Pearl greeted as she turned on her heel towards the Gem. "How are things going at the barn?"

Spinel shrugged nonchalantly. "Same old, same old. Steady progress is steady progress." Spinel stepped off the warp pad, her gaze drifting over towards Stevonnie. "Up now, I see?" she asked with a light smirk. "I swung by the temple earlier this morning expecting to see Steven and Connie and instead I see Stevonnie." She gracefully hopped onto one of the stools that was seated around the kitchen island. "You're a natural at fusion, it seems."

Stevonnie found though, that they couldn't say anything. They tried to force sounds, any sounds, to come out of their mouth, but nothing did. Instead, they could feel their heart begin to race, the thoughts begin to scatter, their breathing quicken, their vision.

All because Spinel was looking at them, that pleasant and terrifying grin still in place.

Pearl was saying something. She looked concerned, but Stevonnie couldn't understand what she was saying. They tried to stand up, but as soon as they did their legs buckled underneath them and they fell back down.

Except they didn't land on the couch.

The ground had given away beneath them. They were falling.

It was near complete darkness around them. They couldn't see anything, not even themselves. They could see nothing… except for a faint figure in the distance. A figure that was also falling…

 _"G-Garnet?!"_

Garnet turned to look at them. Her face was gripped with the same fear that also held Stevonnie's.

They tried to reach over to her, to grab hold of her and to draw her close.

But before they could they landed, hard, onto… some kind of surface.

Stevonnie slowly stood up, their legs still feeling unsteady beneath them. They looked down at what they stood on and saw, to their horror, that it was a giant hand.

They quickly turned towards Garnet and saw that she as well stood on a separate giant hand.

"Well. I've got two now."

The voice was loud and booming, seemingly coming from every direction at once.

Stevonnie gazed upwards and saw, peering out of the darkness above them, was a face.

Her face.

Spinel.

She had that grin, that mocking, horrifying grin that was always planted on her face.

"I've had my fun with one… But… maybe there's still some play left in it…"

Stevonnie turned back towards Garnet, who still looked terrified and frightened about what was going to happen.

"Perhaps if you could say some words in defense of your friend, I might just spare her."

Stevonnie tried to speak, tried to yell, " Leave Garnet alone! She never did anything to you !"

But no sound came out of their mouth.

Only silence.

"A pity. And here I thought you cared about her."

The hand that Garnet stood on began to slowly tip to the side, causing Garnet to kick in her heels, lest she fall into the inky black abyss beneath her.

But the hand just kept tipping.

And eventually, there was no more ground for Garnet to dig her heels into.

And she fell.

Stevonnie leapt to the side of the hand, catching the barest of of glimpses of Garnet, before she was gone.

Swallowed whole by the darkness.

" _Garnet!_ " Stevonnie tried to scream. " _Garnet, please!_ "

"Garnet!"

Steven could feel himself falling backwards, his shoulder hitting the coffee table as he did. He landed hard on his back, the wind being knocked out of his lungs. He laid there a moment, too dazed and confused to get up.

"Steven! Connie!"

Steven could hear Pearl calling their names. He slowly sat up, his shoulder dully aching where he had hit it. Once he was sitting, Steven could see Connie across from him, also sitting on the ground and looking just as shaken up over the… vision they had seen as Stevonnie fell.

"Are you two alright?" Pearl asked, standing on the other side of the coffee table, Spinel standing next to her. Both of them looked genuinely concerned.

"Y-yeah. We're fine," Steven replied slowly as he rose to his feet, Connie also doing the same.

"Are you sure?" Spinel asked. "Stevonnie blanked out there for several seconds and then you two… rather forcefully diffused."

"Stevonnie just remembered a… nightmare they had last night," Connie quickly fabricated.

"A nightmare? It must have been terrifying to have that kind of effect," Spinel replied.

Neither Steven nor Connie responded.

"Well…" Pearl began, "Go get dressed, you two." She picked up Connie's clothes from the coffee table and handed them to her.

"Right. Thanks, Pearl," Connie said as she took her clothes. "I'll just… go change in the bathroom."

She stepped past Steven (though not before laying a light, comforting hand on his arm) and made her way towards the bathroom.

"Oh, by the way. Connie," Spinel said, stopping Connie just a few steps away from the door. "I found your's and Steven's shoes in the Bubble Room last night. Floating in a bubble." She glanced over to her side at Pearl. "Strange how that happens, isn't it?"

"Steven!" Pearl chided. "Really, I've told you before that bubbling is for gems only."

Spinel laughed easily. "Found something else in there too, but I already gave it to Amethyst to snack on."

Pearl sighed. "Steven…"

"I'm sorry, Pearl," Steven replied, just a little unsteadily. "We were about to miss the movie… After we fused we didn't have time to run them back by the temple."

Pearl crossed her arms and continued to look to look at Steven, before finally sighing again, "Alright. It's okay this one time. But from now on, only gems in the Bubble Room."

"Okay, Pearl. Got it," Steven said, amazed that he could sound so casual.

Pearl then walked away, heading towards the kitchen. Steven heard the bathroom door open then shut as Connie went in to get changed. Spinel, on the other hand, remained standing on the other side of the coffee table, her grin still firmly fixed in place.

"Smooth going, Steven," she said. "Pearl was absolutely crazy over you and Connie having your date. Invoke that, and you get to skip her lecture." She held out her hand, palm out towards Steven. "C'mon. Lay one here."

Steven didn't make any movement, however. He only kept a steady gaze on Spinel's hand.

"Geez, Steven. You're not going to leave me hanging, right?" Steven still made no movement or sound. He only maintained his gaze. After a few more moments, Spinel lowered her hand and shrugged. "Ice cold, Steven. That hurt." She turned away. "Connie should be ready in a little bit. Hurry and go get dressed so you can drop her off at school."

Without a word, Steven quickly made his way over to the stairs, not letting his eyes leave Spinel until he began to walk up the them.

"I'll get you one of these days, Steven."

Steven shot back around and almost tumbled backwards down the the stairs. Once he had stabilized himself, he looked at Spinel. She had one of her hands raised, palm out.

"I'll get a highfive out of you one of these days." She grinned so broadly that she flashed her teeth at Steven. The look made him even more uncomfortable than her normal smile.

If Spinel noticed this discomfort, she made no mention of it. Instead she began to walk back towards the warp pad as Steven continued up the stairs.

"Lapis gave me a lead from some of the notes Peridot had been going through. Apparently there's an old Homeworld lab relatively nearby." She stepped up onto the warp pad and turned around. "I'm going to go check it out."

Pearl set down the bowl and whisk she had taken from the cupboard. "Are you sure? I can come with you if you want, Spinel. Or Steven can after he drops Connie off."

Steven had just slipped on his trademark star shirt when he heard Pearl say that. He gulped hard, afraid he already knew what Spinel's answer was going to be and trying to quickly think of a way to wiggle out of it.

"Nah, that's okay. Lapis said it was from before the war. I doubt there will be anything dangerous there."

"Alright…" Pearl responded slowly. "But don't do anything careless."

"Please, Pearl. This is me we're talking about. I'm never careless." With that, Spinel was teleported away.

"Hmph. Except for all the times we've had to grab your gem during a fight…" Pearl mumbled to herself.

Steven walked down the stairs, straightening his shirt and pants as he did. He heard a click and saw Connie emerge from the bathroom, dressed in the same clothes she had been yesterday and carrying Steven's flip-flops in hand.

"Here, Steven," she said simply as she placed the pair of shoes in front of him. He quietly slipped them on.

"Okay, you two. Get moving. We don't want Connie to be late for class," Pearl said, waving the two away. "I think I saw Lion outside under the stairs. Oh, and you should probably take this, Steven." She reached towards the counter behind her and tossed a still wrapped "Lion Licker" at him. It landed against his chest and he caught it. "Alright. Get going."

"Okay. um… Thanks for letting me stay the night, Pearl," Connie said, smiling gently.

"Oh, Connie. It's nothing. You're always welcome here," Pearl responded brightly.

"Thanks…" Connie replied, looking away towards the door. "You ready, Steven?"

"Yeah. Let's go," he responded.

They walked towards the door, Connie going out first and holding it open for Steven. However, before Steven could exit out the house, Pearl called after him.

"And Steven? After you drop Connie off, I'd like you to come straight back to the temple. There's something I want to talk to you about."

Steven stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes instantly shooting over to Connie. She looked as unsure as he did.

"A-alright, Pearl. I will," Steven responded.

"Alright. Have a productive day, Connie."

"I will, Pearl. Bye," Connie responded as Steven left through the door and she let it shut behind them.

There was silence for a while, but once they were about halfway down the stairs, Steven spoke, "What do you think Pearl wants to talk about?"

"I don't know," Connie answered. "Do you think it's… Spinel related?"

"Maybe… But Spinel left just before you came out of the bathroom. She even had an opportunity to take me on a mission alone with her. But she didn't take it," Steven replied. "So whatever it is, I don't think Spinel set it up…"

"Unless Spinel set this all up in advance. So as to lure us into a false sense of security," Connie replied.

Steven said nothing. That was certainly a possibility.

Just as Pearl had said, Lion was asleep under the shade of the stairs. He stirred as Steven and Connie approached.

"Hey there, boy," Steven said, some of the tension he had been feeling draining away a little.

There might be a strange Gem running around, but he still had his Lion.

He held up the Lion Licker as he unpackaged it. That caught Lion's attention right away, as he stood up and began to gently nudge Steven's arm.

"Calm down. I've almost got it," Steven said as he struggled with packaging.

"He really likes those Lion Lickers, doesn't he?" Connie asked with a lopsided grin.

"Yeah, he does… Ah! Here we go," Steven removed the plastic wrap off of the frozen treat and held out the Licker.

Lion sniffed it, once, twice, before downing it in a single bite.

"Hehe, good Lion," Steven said as he began to pet Lion's mane. "Can you take me and Connie to her school?"

Lion licked his muzzle before blinking several times at Steven and just standing there. Finally though, he bent down, allowing Steven to quickly scramble up onto his back. Once he was secured, he helped Connie up, not that she really needed it.

"Alright. Thanks, Boo." He lightly patted the top of Lion's head. "Now, on to the school."

"W-wait. We need to make a stop by my house first."

Steven turned to look at Connie. "You wanna see your parents?"

"Well… yes," Connie admitted. "But I also need my backpack and stuff. And that's at my house."

Steven nodded as he turned back around. "Alright. New destination. Take us to Connie's house first, Lion."

Lion walked out from under the stairs and, with just a slight pause, began running down the beach. Steven grabbed onto Lion for support and he felt Connie wrap her arms around his waist for similar support.

"Alright, Lion. Let's go," Steven said, giving Lion a firm pat on the head.

Lion complied, letting loose a mighty roar that created a ripple effect in front of them, followed by the formation of shimmering pink and blue portal.

"Okay. Hang on, Connie."

When they were almost on top of the portal, Lion leapt into it, the portal closing behind them and whisking them away from the temple.

* * *

 **A/N: Second chapter up. Hooray!**

 **Not the most action-y chapter but... eh, what are you going to do?**  
 **Anyway, tune in next time where we'll be following Steven as he begins to unravel who exactly Spinel is...**

 **Thanks for the reading and, as always, critical feedback is always welcomed.**


	3. Phase Two

Connie's parents had both been… fine. That was all Steven could really describe them as. When they had arrived, Connie's mother was heading out the door to the hospital. She greeted her daughter and Steven, followed by giving Connie a warm embrace.

As she dug through her pockets for the keys to her car, she asked if Connie had a good time staying the night at Steven's. Connie had lied and said that it had been fun.

She then asked Steven how he and the Gems were doing. Like Connie, Steven lied and said they were doing fine.

And after that, she had gotten into the car, started it, and with one last goodbye, drove out of the driveway and down the street. Steven and Connie watched the car, until she turned a corner and was out of sight.

They both stood there in silence, before Connie asked, rather suddenly, "Has Mom met Lion before?"

Steven thought for a moment before answering. "Hmm. I don't think so… But… I don't really feel too confident in my memory right now."

"Yeah. I know what you mean."

With only another momentary pause, Connie went inside her house, while Steven opted to stay outside with Lion to ensure that he didn't wander away. But Lion didn't move from the spot he had warped them in on. In fact, despite the fact that he still looked upon the world with the same disinterested gaze he always had, Steven couldn't help but think that Lion knew that something very bad was going on.

He was smarter than the average lion, after all.

After a few minutes, Connie returned, her bookbag strapped to her back. Steven asked how her Dad was doing and she answered simply that he was fine. He was finishing his breakfast and had wished her a good day at school.

"And… that's all?" Steven had asked.

"That's all he said," Connie confirmed. "He didn't really act that strange or… anything." She sighed. "And that's probably the strangest thing."

Steven pondered all this as Lion teleported the two of them to Connie's school.

Despite their odd behavior, Pearl and Amethyst had stilled seemed like themselves. The only weird thing was that they couldn't remember Garnet, but did remember Spinel, even though Steven was… fairly certain that he had never met Spinel before.

It was a bit harder to judge Connie's parents, mainly because, of the times Steven had interacted with them, it had either been very briefly, or when something not that good was happening. Like Connie suffering from "reconstitution flaw" or finding out about Stevonnie in an… unexpected way. With that in mind, if there was any change it was that they were friendlier now.

Steven quickly shook that thought from his mind.

It wasn't that the Maheswarans weren't friendly. They were, it's just that… Gem business was still fairly new to them. While it was easy for Steven, someone who had been raised around the Gems, to think of everything they do as normal, the Maheswarans were still getting used to it. And what experiences they did have… weren't the best.

It made Steven think about a conversation he had with Connie a few days ago. She had said that, what she wanted from her parents most of all, was for them to say that they were proud of her. Not that they weren't proud of her, she had been quick to stress, but most of that pride came from her non-Gem activities.

More than anything, she wanted her parents to see that what the Gems were doing was good and necessary and that they were glad Connie was assisting them.

Whatever happened, her parents now seemed more relaxed and accepting of Gem Business. And more likely to say they were proud of what she was doing with the Crystal Gems.

They stopped suddenly, Steven having to brace himself to avoid being pushed forward and over Lion's head.

They came to a stop across the street from the school, a smattering of trees doing a well enough job of obscuring them (and Lion) from the kids that were gathered in front of the school.

Connie silently slid off of Lion and adjusted her bookbag.

"Alright," she said. "Time to try and focus on class."

"Don't worry, Connie," Steven replied. "While you're in class, I'll be trying to find out what I can about Spinel."

"Right," Connie nodded. "Maybe by the time school lets out, you'll have discovered enough and we can start making a plan… Just, be careful."

Steven put on the best smile he could manage. "I will. You just focus on… you know, school stuff."

Connie smiled easily. "If you insist." She then grabbed his hand and gave it a firm squeeze. "Once school's out, I'll head straight to the temple. I'll call you when I'm on my way."

Steven nodded. "Okay, Connie."

She slowly released his hand, before starting to make her way towards the school. She stopped though, just before moving past the shady trees, and turned back towards Steven and Lion.

"Don't do anything reckless, Steven."

Steven blinked at her, before slowly responding, "I won't, Connie." His confused expression relaxed into a small grin. "What do you think I'm going to do?"

Connie glanced away. "Nothing, I just don't want anything to happen to you…" She looked back at him, an awkwardly bashful smile on her lips. "Especially not before we get to have our talk…"

"Talk?"

"You know… About the… kiss… and whether or not we're… dating now?" Connie's cheeks flared red and Steven could feel his face redden in response. She quickly turned away, back towards the school. "Sorry... " she muttered. "I guess now's not really the time…"

"N-no, it's alright, Connie," Steven said, sliding off of Lion. He quickly walked over to her side. "I mean… we… probably do need to…" He quietly trailed off as a new, unnerving thought quickly erupted in his mind. "Connie," he said slowly. "Do you remember which one of us asked the other for the date?"

Connie was quiet for a moment before answering, "No. I don't… Why?"

"The gaps in our memories both start at different times, but they both end at the same time. With the date." Steven explained. "So… assuming we're right that Spinel was controlling us… does that mean she set us up on the date?" Steven asked uncertainly.

Connie visibly shuddered at the thought. "I-... Maybe, but why would she? I mean…" She shook her head. "No. Best not to think about that now…"

The school bell rang; the students who had been gathered in groups socializing were now beginning to head to their first classes.

"Class is starting soon…" Connie said, looking back at the school. "I need to get going." She paused for a moment, her gaze still lingering at the school, before promptly turning and wrapping Steven in a tight hug.

Steven returned her embrace and, for several seconds the two just stood there, holding each other close. But as the seconds pressed on, Connie slowly drew away.

"Have a good day at school, Connie," Steven said carefully, still gently holding onto her hands.

"I'll… try to, Steven." She slowly pulled her hands free from his grasp. "You be careful around Spinel. And… remember Garnet."

Steven nodded back at her solemnly.

"During the time we've lost, we probably forgot about Garnet just like Pearl and Amethyst have. So right now… You and I might be the only ones on the planet who still remember her. We… we have to make sure we don't forget her again," Connie said, her eyes wavering as she spoke. "No matter if _anyone_ tries to make us forget."

She turned and began to move past the shady trees, but not before giving Steven a last fleeting wave as she moved around the thick tree trunks and left him there alone.

Lion yawned, resting his head against a nearby tree.

Steven grinned.

Okay, not quite alone.

* * *

The yawn turned out to be indicative of Lions mood. Once they were back at the temple, Lion immediately made his way back to his spot underneath the stairs. He didn't even wait for Steven to get off his back before he laid down, rested his head on his paws, and soundly fell asleep.

Steven carefully slid off Lion's back and, with a quick pet of Lion's mane, began to walk up the stairs towards the beach house.

As he entered, the sweet smell of baked goods filled his nose and he saw Pearl at the sink busily washing bowls and various utensils, a freshly baked pie sitting on the kitchen's central island.

The Gem turned as Steven shut the door behind him. She dried her hands on a nearby washcloth and greeted him, "Hello, Steven."

"Hi, Pearl," Steven returned, trying his best to sound like nothing was wrong, but knowing that he probably wasn't doing a very good job.

Though, Pearl made no indication that she noticed. "Did Connie get to class alright?"

Steven nodded. "Yeah, she did." He felt a lump in the back of his throat that made it a little difficult to talk.

This conversation was completely unnerving to him. Not because Pearl was acting strange, but because, like Connie's parents, she seemed completely relaxed in a situation where you just shouldn't be relaxed. Not helped by the fact that, especially without Spinel here, Pearl seemed… completely normal. She spoke normally, sounded like her usual self, and moved around with the same gracefulness she always did.

But everything wasn't normal.

And to his continued dread, Steven and Connie seemed to be the only ones who realized that right now.

"Are you alright, Steven?" Pearl asked. "You seem a little-" she stopped mid-sentence as she raised her hand to her mouth. "Ah, of course."

"W-what?"

Pearl sighed. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you figured out what I wanted to talk to you about." She crossed the room, laying a hand on Steven's back and leading him over to the couch with her. "Sit down please, Steven."

Steven did so, Pearl sitting down next to him.

"So," Pearl began. "I was thinking last night and… well, now that you and Connie are, uh… what's the word? Dating? I think we should have… er, a talk."

This… certainly wasn't what Steven was expecting. So much so, that Spinel was briefly replaced as the most pressing concern in his mind.

"What do you mean? What kind of talk?" Steven asked.

"A talk about… uh, one moment, Steven." Pearl leaned over and pulled a thick guidebook from underneath the coffee table. Steven noticed that several pages were saved with bookmarks that stuck out the top. The cover looked well worn and, judging by how the people on said cover were dressed, it was likely that the book was at least thirty years old.

As Pearl quickly moved her finger through the bookmarks, looking for just the right one, Steven could read the title of the book: " _What's Happening to my Baby?: The Mother's guide to Teenagers_ ".

Steven gulped. This was going to get awkward. He could already tell.

"Now I'll admit I'm learning myself," Pearl said, opening the book. "But after looking through this book last night, I believe I have a fairly good grasp on what you're going through right now."

Steven fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat. He had seen enough daytime television to know when "The Talk" was coming. He knew that he would have to endure it at some point, but he'd just hoped that Pearl wouldn't be the one giving it…

"Now then, Steven," Pearl started as she quickly began scanning the page with her finger, "When you're alone with Connie, how would you say you feel?"

Steven could feel his cheeks blush. "H-how I feel?"

"Yes. What kind of emotions do you feel when you're alone with her?"

He was silent in response. The truth was of course, that his feeling for Connie were… complicated right now. On one hand, Steven felt the same about Connie as he always did, which admittedly was a little muddled itself. One the other hand though, the revelation that Spinel might have set up their date was still gnawing at the back of his mind. While he was only missing two days worth of his memories, Connie was most likely right when she said that that they had completely forgotten Garnet temporarily. And while the fusion was now safely tucked back into the folds of his memories like she should be, Steven couldn't help but ponder if any other of his long-term memories had been altered.

Like say… His relationship and the feelings he had for Connie…

"My feelings? Well… I… like Connie. She's my friend."

Pearl nodded. "Alright… And would you say that-" She looked down to a spot on the page that she had saved. "That you 'experience tightness in your chest and breathlessness' when she's around?"

"Uhh…" Steven really didn't like where this conversation was heading. "Maybe…?"

"Hmm, I see…" Pearl said again as she began to flip ahead several pages. "You two have known each other for almost a year now…" She traced her finger across the page as she looked for her next point. "Now Steven, have you and Connie… Ahh, here we go." She smiled easily as she turned to face Steven. She began talking very carefully and directly, "Have you and Connie ever 'made out' before?"

For a moment, Steven truly wished that Spinel was back, anything to end this painfully awkward conversation.

"P-Pearl, I don't-... I don't think I'm ready for this…" he sputtered out.

"Oh, don't worry," Pearl waved off Steven's concern. "The book informed me that you were likely to be uncomfortable during this talk. But this is very important to your development." She tapped the corner of her mouth as she looked back the book's pages. "Though I wish I had more lead time for when you and Connie started dating."

Steven could feel sweat beginning to trickle down the back of his neck. "I… I don't even know if Connie and I are … dating, or anything like that…"

Pearl laughed softly. "Steven, please. Spinel's been saying for weeks now that you two have grown so close. She even said that the two of you reminded her of Rose and Greg when they first got together."

That comment… piqued Steven's attention. Fighting through the embarrassment that was still engulfing him, he asked, "Not like you and Mom?"

"No, no. Not at all," Pearl replied quickly. "Rose and I were close, but not like she and your father were." She sighed as she leaned back against the couch. "After the war, Rose did her best to keep a smile on her face, for Amethyst, Spinel, and myself. It was good seeing them together…"

Steven looked down at his feet. This didn't feel right. Pearl was talking so…

 _Casually. Relaxed. Just like the Maheswarans…_

"But enough of that," Pearl said. "We still have a bit more to go over, I think."

Steven felt his stomach churn. He had enough on his mind already. He didn't need this added to the list.

"Now, I don't believe you answered my question," she said. "Have you and Connie 'made out'?"

Steven gritted his teeth as he swallowed hard. He was going to have to bear his way through this. "No, we haven't." he said simply.

"Okay," Pearl responded. "According to the book… Hmm… It doesn't say anything about protection for kissing."

Or, perhaps all the gritted teeth in the world weren't going to be enough for this.

"Please, Pearl!" Steven cried out as he wrapped his arms around his very red face. "Today was the first day Connie and I kissed! We haven't… done anything else. Can we please save this for another time?"

"Tsk, tsk. Now, Steven," Pearl lightly chided. "What we're going over is important. For example, how about…" Her eyes were scanning the page as she started to speak again, only for her to suddenly choke on her words. Steven saw that Pearl began deeply blushing and, after he glanced down at the page she had stopped on, he understood why.

Pearl quickly snapped the book shut and held it tightly in her hands, as if she were afraid it would open again on it's own.

"Ah, well um… perhaps that part is best left to Greg…" she said hurriedly.

"Yeah… Right." Steven quickly agreed.

They were both quiet for a moment. Steven felt like he should say something, but he didn't really know what.

Finally, after several long moments of silence, he asked, "So… where did you get that book, Pearl?"

"Spinel and Amethyst found it a few days ago," Pearl answered, obviously feeling relieved that their conversation was moving on. "While the two of them were reorganizing some of the piles in Amethyst's room, they stumbled upon it. If you can call what Amethyst does to those piles organizing…"

"And… you wanted it after they found it?"

"Well… kind of," Pearl began to explain. "I've given Amethyst a list of things she's to temporarily hand over to me if she finds them in her room. For… investigation." She grimaced. "It wouldn't be the first time we've found something dangerous in her room." Pearl looked down at the book's worn cover. "I read through it a little and… it made me think of you and Connie and how… close you two have gotten recently." She sighed heavily. "I suppose I should have let Garnet handle this…"

Steven bit his tongue with the shock he felt from what Pearl had said. However, before he could say anything, Pearl had corrected herself. "I mean, Spinel. I should have let Spinel handle this."

Despite that however, an idea was already forming in his head.

"Garnet? I… heard Spinel mention her a couple days ago. Who is she?"

Pearl looked at at Steven, a small, sad smile on her face. She placed the guidebook on the table and folded hands her in her lap. "I must admit, even after you asked about her yesterday, Garnet had... completely slipped my mind. No wonder Spinel was annoyed last night. She and I had a… heated talk last night after you and Connie fell asleep." She paused, before continuing, "What happened to that ruby and sapphire…" She seemed to catch herself. "Oh, right. You don't know about…" She sighed softly. "I suppose it's about time you heard this. It is an important time for the Rebellion. And for Spinel… And since, our first talk didn't go quite like I'd hoped, maybe this one will be better," she added hopefully.

Pearl paused for a moment, before continuing.

"It was during the darkest days of the Rebellion, Steven. Homeworld was gaining ground rapidly and, for a moment, it looked like everything we had fought for was going to be for naught." Pearl spoke heavily, as if she had gone over what had transpired many times. "Spinel was accompanying Rose and myself on a mission into the Noble's Court on Earth." A smirk appeared on Pearl's lips. "Though, unlike us, Spinel wasn't there to fight. Only to get us around the guards." She chuckled lightly as she cover her mouth with her hand. "I'm sure Spinel's told you she was one of the Rebellion's best infiltrator and spies, right?"

Steven nodded quickly. "Oh. Yeah, all the time."

"Of course," Pearl grinned. "She's certainly proud of what she did during the war." Her grin slowly faded. "What happened on that mission, though… In hindsight, I'm still somewhat surprised Spinel kept helping the Rebellion…"

"What happened?" Steven asked.

Pearl paused again, before she continued, "Rose had decided that a vital strike had to be made. Not at Homeworld's forces, but at their morale. We had to show them, as well as our own demoralized forces, that the Rebellion still had a chance at winning the war."

Steven nodded intently. He found himself being drawn into Pearl's story.

"For the most part, the plan went well. Spinel had done her part expertly and the three of us didn't run into anyone until we got to the court proper. But… once there…" She looked down at her folded hands. "We knew Blue Diamond herself was going to be in court that day. That's the very reason why Rose chose then to strike. But what we didn't know was that she was receiving an audience with a sapphire and the squad of rubies that had been sent to escort her." She turned back towards Steven, a sad expression on her face. "This sapphire was very special, Steven. She possessed the rare ability of future vision. This allowed her to see glimpses of the future and… it's that reason the plan didn't go as hoped…"

Steven had already heard this story before. Or, a version of it anyway. Garnet had told him the story of Ruby and Sapphire's first fusion during his last birthday. He remembered that Rose and Pearl were the cause of it in a way and, of course, Garnet hadn't mentioned Spinel being there.

Because she wasn't there, Steven mentally reassured himself.

"We were in our positions to attack, when the sapphire told Blue Diamond her prediction," Pearl continued. "She revealed our plans, saying that we were going to attack and that seven gems would have their physical forms destroyed, but that during the attack we would be captured and the Rebellion would end."

Steven gasped. Again, he still remembered this from Garnet's telling of the tale, but it was still exciting story, nonetheless. Regardless if parts of it were wrong. "So, what happened next?" he asked.

"We still went through with the attack," Pearl answered. "Spinel tried to argue that we should pull back and regroup, but Rose was adamant that this was going to be our only chance. ...So we pushed ahead. The plan was to attack the highest ranked nobles at the court, the idea being that this would show that the Rebellion was strong enough to strike at the highest tier of Gems." She snorted. "What happened instead probably ended up being better for the Rebellion in the long run…" Her face twisted into a sad grimace. "And just saying that makes me feel horrible…"

"Why? What happened?"

"During our attack," Pearl began slowly, "one of the rubies that had been sent with the sapphire to protect her… well, I'm not really sure… In the chaos of the fight, I didn't really get to see what happened, only the results." Her sad smile returned. "They fused, Steven," Pearl said, speaking very carefully and deliberately. "That ruby and that sapphire fused together. I know you probably don't think much of it now, but back then, the idea of two different Gems fusing was… unheard of, even for those in the Rebellion. They… They were a completely new experience."

Steven gulped uncomfortably. Judging by how Pearl was speaking, he didn't like where this story was going…

"Unfortunately, that experience was cut… tragically short. After they fused, all the attention in the court turned towards them. Rose and I used that as a distraction so we could escape. We reunited with Spinel, who was still in position and had a prime view of everything that had transpired." Pearl sighed heavily before she continued. "In those early days, Spinel was so reserved. Even when we were at base, she tended to keep to herself. But seeing that fusion… She changed something in her. As Rose and I approached, Spinel came in close to us and whispered one thing, 'Garnet'." She grinned softly. "That what she called the fusion. Garnet." Pearl cast her eyes down at her lap. "However, that joy was short lived. Whereas we saw a brand new experience in Garnet, all Blue Diamond and her court saw was a mistake. The quartz soldiers pounced on her immediately and held her down. Blue Diamond demanded an explanation, but Garnet couldn't give one. She was just as confused as everyone else. So… right then and there, Blue Diamond ordered Garnet's gems shattered."

Steven gasped with genuine shock. Even though this wasn't what happened, he could still picture it perfectly in his mind. Garnet held against the ground, several large figures looming over her and Garnet looked terrified…

"For whatever it was worth, the shattering was over quickly. One moment Garnet was there and the next… she wasn't. But after… after it was done, Spinel turned to Rose and said that we needed to go back down there. That…" Pearl failed to hold back a wheezing breath as she raised her closed fist to her mouth. "That we needed to gather the shards of Garnet's gems so that Rose could heal her…" She wiped the corners of her eyes, stemming the tears before they could begin. "But all Rose could say was that she couldn't… She couldn't heal them…" She sighed again, this time softer. "That was the first time Spinel had ever seen a Gem get shattered. It… stuck with her. And if she's bringing up Garnet, then it must bothering her again." Pearl glanced towards the warp pad. "I should have gone with her… If the lab was abandoned, then it would have been a good time to talk."

Steven was silent.

"But that was a turning point for the Rebellion. The idea of fusion with two different Gems had started to sweep across both Earth and Homeworld. When Rose lent her voice to this new type of fusion, we won over a lot of support. But… Poor Spinel…" Pearl looked back down at her lap. "The whole experience devastated her and occasionally, she has… darker periods when she can't stop thinking about it…"

Steven remained silent.

"I'm sorry, Steven," Pearl said, resting an easy hand on Steven's shoulder. "It can't be easy to imagine Spinel like that. She's usually so easy-going and relaxed."

"No, it's okay, Pearl," Steven replied. "It was… interesting to hear." He forced as sincere a smile as he could muster. "It told be a lot about Spinel."

"Well I'm glad you got something out of it," Pearl said as she patted Steven on the head and rose to her feet. She walked briskly over to the kitchen. "Hmm… Do you have anything planned today, Steven?"

"Umm… Not really…" Steven responded slowly.

"Then would you mind taking this pie to the barn?" Pearl asked as she lifted the pie off the counter and brought it over to him.

"A… pie? Why?" Steven asked confusedly. Pearl handed the pie and it's plate to Steven. The baked good still felt warm in his hands.

"That's the next type of food Amethyst is trying to tempt Peridot with," Pearl sighed. "I'm not sure how I got roped into helping her though…"

"Oh… Yeah, right. Um, yeah I will," Steven answered, as he glanced down at the pie. It looked and smelled very tasty and while Steven didn't doubt the Amethyst would want some of it, he hadn't thought Peridot would.

 _Amethyst and Peridot were starting to spend more time together… Maybe this isn't something Spinel influenced and I really just can't remember Amethyst trying to get Peridot to eat… Or maybe their whole relationship is Spinel's doing, just like-..._

Steven quickly cut off the line of thought. For now, what Spinel had created wasn't important. He needed to focus on finding out more about Spinel and where she came from and why she was here.

"Okay, Pearl," he said steadily. "I'm going to head to the barn now." Steven started walking towards the warp pad.

"Alright, Steven," Pearl said as she waved at him. "Tell Peridot and Lapis I said 'hi'."

Steven stepped quickly onto the warp pad, pie in hand. He saw Pearl beginning to head out the door.

"Where are you going?" Steven asked.

"Just a quick patrol around town," Pearl answered. "After that, I'm going to try and find that lab Spinel headed to; keep her company and see if she wants to talk."

Steven silently gulped. "Be careful."

Pearl chuckled. "Not to worry, Steven. I've seen Spinel in low spirits before. We'll be fine."

Steven said nothing else. He closed his eyes and could begin to feel himself being lifted off of his feet as the warp pad activated underneath him.

* * *

He kept his eyes closed during the actual trip. Usually he relished the chance to gaze at the stream of light that transported them and occasionally poke his head out from the stream and look at the vastness of warp space.

But not today. Steven kept his eyes closed in order to focus his scattered thoughts.

He had no doubt that Spinel had already gotten to the barn and exerted her influence over Peridot and Lapis, both of whom could wreck a lot havoc. Peridot with her extensive knowledge of Gem technology, and Lapis with her-

"Oh, no. No…"

The thought hit him hard. A mind-controlled Peridot, Pearl, and Amethyst could be dangerous enough, but Lapis? At least near water, she was on an entirely different level from the others. Steven had already gotten a glimpse of that before, and while Lapis hadn't meant any harm to Earth or the beings that lived here… what if she had?

He knew that Lapis would never do something like that, but if… if Spinel had gotten to her…

Steven gulped as his feet touched down on the warp pad near the barn. As the stream vanished, Steven could see the comforting sight of the barn in the distance.

 _At least it's still standing_ , he thought to himself.

Steven stepped off the warp pad and began to walk towards the barn. There didn't seem to be anyone around and Steven didn't hear any anything troubling. Like say, the ocean slowly being siphoned away.

 _No. Try not to think about that. Even if… something is wrong with Lapis, you can just-_ "W-woah! What's going-?!"

Before he even fully knew what had happened, Steven found himself being swooped up into the air, the a pair of arms wrapped tightly around his middle. He tightened his grip on the pie, so as not drop it.

"Hey, Steven!" a somewhat familiar voice greeted.

"L-Lapis?" Steven asked uncertainly as he glanced over his shoulder and saw the just the barest amount of the Gem's profile.

"Do you know any other Gems that can fly?" she asked with a small laugh.

"Erm, no…"

"Then I guess it would have to me, wouldn't it?" Lapis answered lightly. Steven felt the arms around his middle squeeze just a little more. "Sorry, I'm just… in a really great mood. Since we started working on opening that storage cube, you guys have been dropping by the barn more often." She giggled lightly. "I love it. I love having all my friends around."

Steven said nothing in return. The two of them were circling the barn as Lapis began to descend.

"Come on," she said, as if this whole flight had been Steven's idea. "Let's get down there. I'm sure Peridot and Amethyst want to see you too."

Lapis gracefully landed in front of the barn and gently set Steven back on his feet. He then quickly turned so as to get a good look at the Gem.

She seemed as she always had, from her bare feet, to her dress, to her flowery hair. But what was a little off was her expression.

In all the time Steven had known her, Lapis had never had a grin on her face quite as wide or joyful as the one she wore now. It reminded him uncomfortably of Spinel's grin…

"What's wrong, Steven? Do I have something on my face?"

Steven opened his mouth to answer, however a voice from the barn filled in for him, "Ah, give him a break, Laps. He's probably still reeling from his talk with Pearl." Amethyst walked from out of the barn's entrance, a cheeky smirk on her face. "She did give ya, 'The Talk', right, dude?" she asked as she seemed to notice the pastry in Steven's hands. "Ooh, Sweet! Pearl made the pie!" she said excitably.

"Oh. Yeah, she did," Steven replied simply.

Amethyst grabbed the baked good from Steven. "Hehe. This'll be the one for Peri."

"Wait, hold on. What kind of talk did Steven and Pearl have?" Lapis asked, holding her head askew.

"Hehe. ' The Talk'." Amethyst answered, smiling smugly and still investigating the pie. "Steven and Connie went on their first date yesterday. I overheard Pearl and Spinel talking about it in Pearl's room last night."

Lapis covered her mouth with her hands as she gasped with surprise. "That was yesterday?! Why didn't anyone tell me?" She quickly turned towards Steven. "I'm so sorry I missed it, Steven! Things have just been so hectic here at the barn lately I completely forgot to ask when you and Connie were going on your date…" Her saddened gaze looked away. "I'm sorry, Steven…"

"Uh… That's okay, Lapis," Steven said, getting a better handle on sounding natural. "I kinda forgot about it too until Connie came over."

"Yeah, that's true," Amethyst confirmed. "So don't feel too bad about it, Laps."

Lapis looked unconvinced, however. "Still, though… I had all these great tips I'd gotten from Camp Pining Hearts. And now…"

"You don't have to worry," Steven said. "The date went really well. Connie and I even… er…" Steven found himself too embarrassed to continue despite his desire to put Lapis at ease.

"You and Connie… what, Steven?" Lapis asked.

"Ooohoh~ I know what you're talking 'bout," Amethyst said grinning. She leaned in close to Lapis and in a fake whisper said, "They kissed. Like, on the lips."

"Oh. My. Stars," Lapis said slowly, her eyes growing wide with shock. "Steven… You didn't…" She placed both of her hands on either of her cheeks. "Oh my. It took Percy and Sophie three seasons before the kissed…"

"Well, Connie and I have known each other for about a year now…" Steven replied.

He wasn't sure what he was doing, drawing this conversation out. To see if Lapis was fine? Well, "fine" wouldn't be the word Steven would use, but at least she didn't seem to be in a mood to flood the Earth.

"That's true," Lapis conceded. She sighed before continuing, "I'm just really sad that I missed it. That's a big moment, Steven," she smiled softly. "Did you two at least have fun?"

"Yeah, we did. We went and saw a movie," Steven said.

"Aww… That's so sweet," Lapis cooed. She smiled happily. "I'm glad you and Connie are finally taking this step. No one should have to be like Chief Councillor Antoine."

"Yeah…" Steven responded. There was a beat of silence before he went on, "So… is Peridot around?"

"Oh yeah! The pie!" Amethyst exclaimed as she turned and ran back into the barn. "Hey, Peri! I got something you gotta try!"

Lapis laughed lightly. "Those two," she said. "Come one, Steven. Peridot was just about to start phase two of her plan, so it's good you dropped by now."

"Phase two? For what?"

Lapis began to walk into the barn. "Geez, Steven. That date with Connie must have really been something." Lapis offered no more explanation, so Steven followed behind her silently.

The barn was as it always had been, save for a simple, folding metal table that now stood in the center of the barn. Strewn around the table were various bits of… stuff. Cut wires, small scraps of metal, what looked like half a car engine…

And standing at the table was Peridot, her back facing Steven as he approached. Amethyst stood next to her, sliding the pie over towards her.

"Hey, Peri," Amethyst said with a sly grin. "Got'cha something."

Peridot turned, placing the tool that she had been using in the table and said, "Amethyst, now's not really the ti-" Peridot was cut off by Amethyst suddenly tackling her to the ground and kissing her rather… energetically.

As Steven watched the display, her heard Lapis laugh again. He turned towards her and saw that she was slowly shaking her head. "One of these days, she's going to poof Peridot by doing that."

"Okay, so I lied. I got ya two things," Amethyst said with a huge smirk, still laying on top of Peridot.

"Amethyst, please!" Peridot gasped, as Amethyst got off her a little. "Can't this wait until…" Her eyes quickly dashed to Lapis and Steven as her cheeks began to flush. "...until later?"

"Dot, there ain't gonna be a later once you start the next thing in your plan," Amethyst retorted. "Not for awhile, anyway…"

It was now that Steven felt his eyes drift up onto to the table and see what Peridot had been working on. It looked like an old computer tower, the kind Steven had seen Peridot digging through and commenting on the "late-blooming Earth technology". Though, Steven could see several modifications that had been installed into it. For one, what looked like a small screen had been put into it's side and, underneath that, an equally small keypad, consisting of nine keys. And the last visible modification was a small indention just a few inches away from the screen. So overall, not very innocuous.

Amethyst had finally gotten off of Peridot and was helping her to her feet, though not before sneaking another kiss on Peridot's cheek, which caused Peridot's entire face to blush brightly.

"Amethyst…" Peridot groaned, embarrassed, but still clearly loving the attention. "I… appreciate your enthusiasm."

"That's certainly one word for it," Lapis said as she walked further into the barn, Steven silently following her.

 _You need to act natural. Whatever Peridot's building could have something to do with Spinel. I need to gather information so Connie and I can start to work out a plan later today._

"So, Peridot and Amethyst are kissing now."

All three pairs of eyes turned towards him.

 _Act more natural then that!_

"Uh, yeah," Amethyst replied dully. "What else is new?"

"Er, uh nothing! Just uh… pointing out a…" Steven stumbled over himself.

"Ooooh… I see what this is about," Amethyst said as she beckoned him over. "C'mere, dude." Steven did so, though once he was close enough, Amethyst grabbed him in a tight bear hug. "He's a little self-conscious," she said, as Steven tried to push away from her in order to regain his ability to breath. "He got his first kiss from Connie on their date yesterday."

"Steven! You didn't!" Peridot cried.

Amethyst finally deemed to let Steven go and, after catching his breath, he responded, "Yeah… I did. Er, we did. Kiss, that is."

"What?! B-but the tips-!" Peridot sputtered.

"I already told him," Lapis said easily. "We missed out chance to give him our tips."

"No, we haven't," Peridot insisted. "Some tips might still applicable on subsequent dates." She turned towards Steven. "You and Connie haven't exchanged friendships bracelets, right?"

"No…"

Peridot sighed with relief. "Good. When you do, make sure you bracelet has only one primary color."

"Okay… Why?" Steven asked.

Peridot rolled her eyes as if that was one of the most foolish questions she had ever heard. "Because on Camp Pining Hearts, when Pierre gave Sophie a friendship bracelet with more than one primary color, she rejected him and it!"

"Just because it had more than one primary color?" Steven asked.

"Well… no," Peridot admitted. "Also because he had cheated at the dodgeball tournament and refused to admit it to the councillors. But still, there's no reason to take any chances."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that," Amethyst said. "Steven's got charm to spare. He's got that funky-flow, yo." She laughed. "Or at least that's what Spinel's always saying."

"Hehe, true," Lapis replied grinning. "Though, to be fair, Connie's got plenty of charm of her own."

"She does," Steven agreed, trying again to implant himself naturally into the conversation. "Connie's pretty… great."

Lapis nodded in agreement. "She's so sweet. You're lucky to be dating her, Steven."

Steven was about to correct her and say that he wasn't sure if he and Connie were dating, however Peridot spoke first, "Before this conversation goes any further, I'm afraid I have to finish my work on the passphrase guesser."

"Passphrase guesser? Passphrase for what?" Steven asked.

Once again, all eyes were on Steven as he mentally chastised himself for not acting more natural.

"For the storage cube, dude," Amethyst responded. She raised an eyebrow as she continued, "You sure you're alright? You've been acting weird ever since you got back from your date."

"Oh, yeah. I am, just… got a lot on my mind," Steven quickly answered. "You know… with the dating and… stuff."

"Aww, what's the matter?" Amethyst said in a faux cutesy voice. "Can't get your girlfriend out of your mind?" She laughed as threw her arm around Peridot and brought her in close. "Yeah, I know what that's like."

"Amethyst…" Peridot said, her face beginning to glow brightly once more. "I really need to finish. If I don't before the fuel cells in the cube give way-"

"Yeah, yeah. I know…" Amethyst groaned as she released Peridot from her grasp. "But do ya have any time for… pie?" she asked with a smirk.

"Maybe… after phase two," Peridot responded with a weak smile.

Amethyst pumped her arm in victory. "Yes! I'm holding ya to that, Peri."

With a fleeting look towards Steven and Lapis, Peridot turned back towards her device and resumed her work.

"How much more work do you have to do, Peridot?" Steven asked.

"Not much. It's really more just touching up now," Peridot answered as she opened a panel on the device and began to poke around in it. "Are you going to stay for the start of phase two, Steven?"

"Sure. I am."

She glanced over her shoulder with a smirk. "Good. The more who are here to witness my unbound genius, the better."

Amethyst silently rolled her eyes as she turned her attention back to Peridot and the tinkering she was doing.

No one else spoke, so Steven decided to use this opportunity to take a look around the barn. He walked away as casually as he could muster and began to quickly cast his gaze to every corner of the barn. But much to his dismay, everything looked normal, just as it had at the temple. The tractor, the paint cans, the couch and TV in the loft…

 _Everything looks like it's supposed to… There's no sign Spinel was ever-_

His eyes caught on a notebook that was laid against a wall in the corner. Steven paused, taking a look over at the table where Peridot, Amethyst, and Lapis were still gathered, before carefully approaching the notebook. It was fairly nondescript, no markings on the outside or anything like that. Inside however, were many pieces of paper, all of them scribbled on in symbols that Steven didn't recognize.

 _Wait, no. I do know what this is. This is Gem Language._

Now that he saw it, there was no mistaking it. This was the same language that Centi had used when she had tried to communicate with him. Not that the revelation helped Steven that much. He couldn't read any of it.

 _There has to be something useful in here… Just anything…_

"Hey, Steven. What do you have there?"

Steven jumped as he slammed the notebook and quickly turned around to see Lapis standing behind him.

"O-oh, Lapis," he said. "I was just…" He gulped.

 _It's just Lapis. No reason to be afraid…_

"I just found this notebook and I was wondering what was in it," Steven answered easily.

"Oh, that's just the notebook Spinel brought over a few days ago," Lapis said.

"What's in it?" Steven asked.

"Lot's of things, though mostly locations for old Homeworld bases," Lapis replied. "Apparently, Spinel found an old database computer and transcribed it's contents into that notebook."

"Why?"

Lapis smirked. "Old habits die hard. She spent so much of her life hunched over a terminal transcribing notes, it wouldn't surprise me that she still does it on instinct."

"I see… So is the notebook being used for anything?" Steven asked.

Lapis thought for a second, and then answered, "I don't think so. Spinel left it here and hasn't come back to get it."

"Then can I take it back to the temple?"

"Um, I suppose. But why do you want it, Steven?" Lapis asked.

"Well, I… I'm trying to learn Gem Language," he answered smoothly. "And this is full of… uh, language."

"Oh, okay," Lapis replied. "But shouldn't you get, like Pearl or Spinel to teach you?"

"I asked Pearl but she said there wouldn't be much point. But… I still want to learn. So that, even before I can heal her, I can talk to Centi."

It wasn't a lie. Steven had already been turning this over in his head since his failed attempt to heal Centipeetle. Even if he couldn't fully heal her or her crew, he could still partially heal them, albeit for a limited time. He was sure they'd enjoy the company and it would be nice if he could communicate with them more easily than through pictures.

Lapis smiled with a mixture of sadness and care. "Oh, Steven… You really are one-of-a-kind." She patted Steven on the head. "Go ahead and take the notebook. And if you need any help, you can come to me. Anytime. Alright?"

He nodded in response. "Alright, Lapis. Thanks," he smiled.

"It is complete! It's time to begin phase two!"

Both Steven and Lapis looked over at the table where Amethyst and Peridot still stood. The green Gem had her arms folded across her chest and a triumphant look on her face.

Lapis chuckled lightly. "Looks like Peridot's ready for the next step." She looked over at Steven. "Let's see how this works."

Steven followed Lapis back over to the table, the notebook tucked under his arm. Peridot was handing Amethyst something as they approached.

"-and here. Use the GEM," Peridot said.

"Oh yeah. Your powerup doohickey," Amethyst replied as she took the small device and affixed it over her gem. "How do I turn it on?"

"Summoning your weapon should be sufficient."

Amethyst did so, and as soon as her whip was pulled from her gem, her eyes grew wide with excitement.

"Ah, yeah, Dot. I can feel it working!" she exclaimed as her whip disappeared from her hand. "This is so cool!"

Peridot grin grew more pleased as she spoke, "I'm glad you approve of it, Amethyst." Her gaze turned towards Lapis and Steven. "Ah, there you two are. Are you ready to behold my genius at work?"

"Always, Peridot," Lapis said simply. "Whenever you're ready."

"Very good. The Cube?"

"Oh, right. Just a second," Lapis said as she quickly summoned her wings flew to loft and then quickly flew back, a small, unadorned cube in her hand. "Here," she said, handing it to Peridot.

"Thank you, Lapis," Peridot said, taking the cube and placing it next to her machine on the table. "I just need to link the cube to my passphrase guesser…" She took a cable and attached it to a port on front of her machine and then attached the other end… somewhere into the cube's back side. "Perfect. Now we just need to power the guesser and then it's automated guessing sequence will begin." She turned back towards Amethyst. "Alright. I'm ready when you are."

Amethyst readied herself like she was about to do something, but then hesitated.

"Are you sure about this, Peridot? I mean… It won't like…"

"N-no, of course not," Peridot responded. "I will be completely fine. And the process should only take between twelve and thirty hours."

"Alright…" Amethyst responded uncertainly. "But, just in case…" She leaned over and kissed Peridot on the cheek. She lingered there for a moment before pulling away, "Like, I dunno how much influence you have over it, but be careful, alright? I don't wanna lose ya."

Peridot visibly gulped. "Yes. I don't want to lose you either, Amethyst. But this needs to be done…"

"Yeah, I know," Amethyst sighed.

"And besides. If any damage is done to my gem during this process, then Steven can always heal me," Peridot said gesturing over towards the young boy.

Amethyst gave a small smile. "Yeah, that's true." She sighed again. "Alright, ready?"

"Indeed."

Amethyst readied herself. Steven noticed her hand curl into a fist and then, before Steven even really knew what was happening, Amethyst punched Peridot in the chest.

 _No… Through her chest…_

Steven could see Amethyst's arm go right through Peridot's chest and out her back.

For a moment, the two of them just stood there, Amethyst and Peridot looked like they were both unsure and horrified at what was happening, and then…

Peridot's form disappeared in a puff of smoke and Amethyst quickly scrambled to catch her gem before it hit the ground. Once she did, she just looked at it in the palm of her hands, her lips quivering as she spoke softly, "I'm sorry… I'm sorry, Peridot… I didn't mean to hit you that hard…"

Steven was frozen in place, unsure what had just happened or… why it had happened. He felt just a little quessiness in his stomach.

"Amethyst…" Lapis said softly as she took a few steps towards her. "We need to put her gem in place."

Still looking at the green, triangular gem in her hands replied, "Y-... Yeah. Right… Here. You do it." She slowly handed Peridot's gem to Lapis, who took it gingerly and then walked towards the table with the machine.

Without a word, Lapis placed the gem into the slot on the machine next to the screen. Steven heard a "click" as the gem snapped into place and the screen flared to life, flashing several symbols that Steven didn't recognize.

"S-so now what?" Amethyst asked, as she took off the GEM and very noticeably tried not to look at Peridot's gem.

"With a gem as a power source, Peridot said that it should run stably enough that we shouldn't have to mess with it," Lapis answered. "We just need to wait."

"Great… My favorite…" Amethyst moaned as she turned away. "I'm… heading back to the temple. I'll… see ya guys later." She walked out of the barn without another word, her head hanging low.

There was silence for several seconds, broken only by the steady hum of the machine before Lapis spoke, "Amethyst took that harder than I thought she would," she said, her eyes on Peridot's gem. "I mean… I know this isn't ideal, but with the time limit we have on the cube… What choice did we have?" She then seemed to realize that she wasn't alone, as she turned towards Steven, who was still frozen in place and tightly holding onto the notebook. Lapis's gaze softened immediately as he began to talk to him, "You alright, Steven?"

Steven slowly nodded. "Y-yeah. I'm good."

"You sure?"

"Yeah… Um, I'm going to head out too… Got uh… Got some studying to do." He held up the notebook and tried to put on a casual smile.

Lapis smiled easily in return. "Alright, if you're sure. I'll be here. Watching over-" She glanced over her shoulder. "Watching over Peridot."

"Okay. Bye, Lapis." Steven began to walk out of the barn.

"Bye, Steven. See you later."

As soon as he was out of view, Steven broke into a run in the direction of the warp pad. He wanted get away from the barn, away from the image in his mind. Of Amethyst and Peridot standing there, both of their expressions frozen in a mask of horror.

Steven nearly tripped over the warp pad when he arrived at it. He fell to his knees on it, holding the notebook tightly and trying his best to keep some semblance of composure.

 _Nows… Nows not the time… You need to go through the notebook… See if there's…_

Peridot had only been poofed. As soon as the machine was done, she'd be taken out and then she could reform. No problem.

Unless the machine damages her gem.

 _"And besides. If any damage is done to my gem during this process, then Steven can always heal me."_

That's true too. After all, Steven had gotten his healing spit back under control.

 _Is that why you couldn't heal Centi? Because you have it "under control"?_

Steven let out a choked cry, a single tears beginning to run down his face.

For several minutes, he just stayed there, trying his best to regain himself.

If Spinel were at the temple, he needed to look natural.

Finally, he began to slowly get back on his feet and, without even opening his eyes to look at the stream, let the warp pad take him back to the temple.

* * *

 **A/N: Oh my... Well, things are certainly heating up, aren't they?**

 **Also, forget about gaps in your memories, forget about some strange person wandering around that everyone but you remembers, the true sign that everything's screwed up?**

 **Happy Lapis.**

 ***shudders***

 **Thanks for the read and, as always, feedback is appreciated.**


	4. Connections

"-and while the American Revolution did bring along significant changes in the ways people thought about their government, I would argue that the sometimes overlooked revolution, the French Revolution, played another key role in this-"

The class bell rang, cutting Mr. Green off from his lecture.

"But I suppose we'll get into that tomorrow," he said as his students began to gather their things and shove them into various kinds of bookbags. "Don't forget your reading for tonight," he called out as students began to get up from their seats and head towards the door.

In a rare change, Connie was the first one out the door.

She moved quickly through the halls, dodging students and faculty alike. Not that she really knew why she was in a rush. Mr. Green's history class was only her fourth period of the day.

 _And now I have to sit through lunch. And I'm not even close to being hungry._

She pushed past a group of older students that were talking and standing in the middle of the hallway. They shot her a look as she did, but she didn't notice.

 _Maybe I should spend lunch in the library. It'll at least be quiet there… And maybe I can gather my thoughts._

"Connie! Over here!"

Before Connie could change her direction, a voice called out to her. She turned and saw Peedee, Steven's friend who's family owned the fry stand at the boardwalk. He was waving at her from the cafeteria entrance.

For a moment, Connie considered pretending like she hadn't noticed him, even though it was fairly obvious she had. She didn't know Peedee that well and frankly, she really wasn't in much of a mood for casual conversation. But… He was Steven's friend and if you were Steven's friends, then chances are you are, at the very least, worth acknowledging. So in the end, Connie returned his wave and made her way over to him.

"Hey, Connie," Peedee greeted as she approached him. "Ready for lunch?"

His tone was one of familiarity, like them eating together was a regular occurrence. And unfortunately, Connie had a gnawing suspicion on why Peedee would believe that they ate lunch together regularly, when Connie herself had no memory of it.

"Sure, Peedee," she answered lightly. "Let's go."

They both entered the noisy cafeteria and quickly scanned the room for an empty table.

"What about right there?" Peedee asked, pointing to a table in the corner of the cafeteria. Connie nodded and Peedee continued, "Alright. You brought your lunch right? Why don't you go grab our seats while I get 'food'?" he said, finger quoting his last word.

"Sure," Connie said slowly. She strided over to the table before anyone else could claim it. And she sat there. Waiting. With nothing to distract her.

"This was a bad idea," she mumbled to herself. She began to drum her fingers on the table as she did her best to level her breathing.

Connie had always been somewhat anxious in general. It came with being a socially withdrawn book-nerd most of her life. That, and having parents with such… high expectations also didn't really help. But over the years, Connie had come up with several ways to ease herself whenever her anxiety started to get a little overwhelming. And more recently, Connie found that Pearl's pre-battle preparations tended to help as well.

 _Focus your breathing. Know who your enemy is and why you have been brought into this battle._

 _Spinel,_ she thought.

 _Because you're threatening my friends._

The sound a plastic tray hitting against the table drew Connie out of her own mind.

"Can you believe this?" Peedee asked as he gestured towards his tray.

Connie looked down at the food on the tray, but couldn't find anything particularly off with it. It was just a simple cheeseburger and a side of fries. Normal cafeteria fair.

"I'm not quite sure what you mean," Connie replied.

Peedee picked up one of the fries and held it in front of his face. "Look at this fry. Soggy and undercooked." He dropped it back onto the tray. "If I tried to serve this at the stand, I'd never live it down."

Connie tried to smile. "Yeah. Probably."

Peedee looked at her for a moment before asking, "You alright, Connie? A fry rant usually gets at least a chuckle."

Connie blinked at him before responding, "Yeah. I'm fine."

"Are you not eating because you're fine?"

Connie managed a small smirk. "No. I'm not eating because I'm not hungry."

"Hehe. Fair enough," Peedee laughed. He took a fry from the plate and popped it into his mouth before continuing, "Does this have to do with your date with Steven the other day?"

Connie could feel her heartbeat increase at the question. This really wasn't something she wanted to think about right now.

"No… It's just…"

Peedee held up his hand. "Say no more. No need to talk about it if you don't want to."

"No, that's not what I meant," Connie said defensively. "Our date went well. In fact… I'd say it went great." She glanced down at her bookbag that sat on the ground next to her. "Barring a few… hiccups…"

Peedee swallowed the bite of burger that he had taken. "Oh, really? So you two really are going to be Beach Cities power couple?"

Connie could feel her face grow warm. "I… don't know about that."

Peedee tossed another ketchup topped fry into his mouth. "Well… Power couple might be the wrong phrase. Still, you have to admit. You two make a great match."

"Hmm…" Connie sounded unsure.

Peedee snorted. "Listen, before your date, Spinel would always drop by the stand whenever she was getting donuts for Amethyst and Steven. And one of her favorite topics was how you and Steven are made for each other." He rolled his eyes before continuing. "She's probably the biggest shipper of you two in Beach City."

"The… biggest shipper?" Connie asked.

"Yeah, you know. Shipping, like relationship? It's the internet slang way of saying you support these people getting into a relationship together." He chuckled. "Now all you need is a cutesy couple name. Or, at least that's what Spinel says."

"I see..."

"Personally, I'm fond of Stevonnie. Then you have your couple name and it's the name of your fusion. Double meaning, ya know," Peedee said.

Connie was silent, taking a moment to think. Just as Peedee was taking another bite of his burger, she asked, "Does Spinel talk about Steven and I a lot?"

Peedee shrugged. "Not more than she talks about anyone else." He dipped the last bite of his burger into the small cup of ketchup and then tossed it into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed. "Why?"

"Just… wondering," Connie said. "Sometimes it just feels like Spinel is the Gem I know the least about."

"Yeah, I can see that. I mean, none of the Gems really talk about the past that much, but you can still usually get a few details out of them. But Spinel?" Peedee shrugged again. "Closed book, that one."

As Connie took in everything Peedee had said, an idea began to form in her head.

"Hmm…" she wondered as she tapped her lower lip. "That's true. Spinel can be a little closed off. I wonder why that is…"

"Who can say? Some people just don't like talking about themselves." Peedee pushed his empty tray to the side of the table. "Whenever she drops by the stand, she always talks about Steven, or Pearl, or Amethyst, or whatever mission or project they're working on." He paused. "Well, most of the time, anyway."

That piqued Connie's interest. She asked carefully, "'Most of the time'? Did something happen?"

"Eh, not really. Just, like two days ago, Spinel passed by the fry stand early that morning before we'd opened and I happened to be at the front counter so I called out to her. But when she turned around she looked really…" Peedee raised his hand to his mouth in contemplation. "I dunno. Stressed, maybe? It's kinda hard to put my finger on it exactly. But anyway, she just gave a curt little wave and walked off."

"Did you see her again that day?"

"Yeah. Later that afternoon she swung by and apologized for being in such a rush that morning. I asked her why and she just gave that grin of hers and said 'Gem Business'. I took the hint and didn't ask anymore follow up questions."

"I see… And when was this again?" Connie asked as smoothly as she could.

"Saturday," Peedee answered.

Connie was silent, the gears in her head already turning. The gap in Steven's memory had started sometime on Thursday and Steven had no memories of Friday, Saturday, and most of Sunday. So it was likely that Spinel had arrived that Thursday. And if what Peedee said was accurate (not that Connie doubted him, but memory issues were becoming a problem lately) then it was also likely that on Saturday morning Spinel had only been around for one full day. Was that why she was in a rush that morning? She was still… flexing her influence over more people? And if so… how far out did it spread?

"Are you okay, Connie?" Peedee asked, breaking Connie out of her thought process.

Connie put on what she hoped looked like a non-forced smile and replied, "Yeah. Just… thinking."

"Gem Business?"

Connie grimaced, "Afraid so."

Peedee gave a lopsided smirk, "Of course."

Connie felt a pang of guilt shoot through her, "I'm sorry, Peedee. It's just-"

However, Peedee held up his hand to stop her. "It's alright, Connie. I understand. Can't involve the regular folk in dangerous business. Just… Can you answer one question?"

Connie nodded.

"This has to do with Spinel, doesn't it?"

"Y-yeah. I think it does," Connie replied slowly.

Peedee sighed. "Of course. I knew this was going to happen."

"Knew what was going to happen?" Connie asked.

"Spinel was going to… get herself into trouble. She's that kind of person. Focused so much on other people and their problems that she doesn't realize that the water is slowly rising at her own feet," Peedee said as he rested his elbows on the table.

"Hm. That's… not how I'd describe Spinel," Connie replied simply.

"It's how I would. I mean, come on, Connie. Spinel's helped relations improve between the Gems and the town, she's always going around on 'patrols', which everyone knows are just excuses for her to go around town and see if anyone needs any help or just needs someone to talk to, or whatever." Peedee cupped his hands and began to twiddle his thumbs together. "I mean, she is the one that suggested we start eating lunch together. If not for her, I'd still be eating alone everyday."

"Peedee, that… There are a lot of people besides me who would like to eat lunch with you," Connie said.

"Probably. I mean, it's a big school. But…" he glanced away. "I kinda have trouble reaching out to people. Really, the only reason I'm friends with Steven is because he talked to me first."

"Yeah," Connie sighed simply. "I know what that's like."

Peedee gave a small smile. "So it's good that someone like Spinel is around, you know? Pearl and Amethyst fight the monsters and Spinel's PR. Well, Spinel and Steven." He chuckled. "Could you imagine what the relationship between the town and the Gems would be without those two?"

"Probably mutual disinterest," Connie replied, an odd discomfort growing around her.

"Exactly," Peedee said. "We'd be getting our butts saved on a daily basis and we'd never know it. Except when a giant hand descends from the sky over town, I guess."

Connie was silent. The ideas swirling around her head were… disquieting, to say the least. Even though he hadn't meant to, Peedee had raised a good point. All the changes that Spinel had made, at least that Connie could see, were all changes for the positive, at least in theory.

Better relations between the Gems and the residents of Beach City? Positive.

Connie's parents being more relaxed and trusting of what she was doing with the Gems? Positive.

Steven and Connie going on their first date? Positive. ...Hopefully.

All of those were positive changes. And not only that, but they were all things that-...

Connie's eyes shot open with a sudden realization. She stood from her seat knocking it over as she did.

"Woah, you alright Connie?" Peedee asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm… I'm fine. Um, listen, I need to check on something real quick so…" she trailed off.

"Ah, right. Say no more," Peedee waved off. "Bell's gonna ring in a little bit anyway. You go do what you need to."

Connie nodded as she grabbed her bookbag and began to walk away. "Thanks, Peedee. I'll-" She stopped, both mid-sentence and mid-step, as she looked back over towards him.

"Something else up?" he asked.

"No, just… Listen, this is going to sound really weird, but when this latest batch of Gem Business is settled with Spinel, I… want to eat lunch with you again, Peedee."

He blinked with confusion. "Um… okay, Connie. Why wouldn't we?"

Connie gave a lopsided smile. "I told you it would sound weird." She began to walk again, waving to him and calling over her shoulder, "I'll see you later, Peedee."

"Yeah… I'll see you, Connie. And, hey."

She stopped again as she turned around.

"You be careful. The Gems might be aliens from another planet, but you're still human. Don't let the water rise around your feet without your notice."

Connie paused for a beat, before nodding again. "Right. I will Peedee. Thanks," she said as she walked towards the cafeteria's exit.

* * *

Connie paced back and forth in front of the girl's bathroom.

"Come on. Pick up, Steven…" she urged.

She held her phone to her ear, her eyes constantly darting around to make sure that no school faculty were around. They didn't take kindly to students being on their cell phones during school hours. Luckily, B wing's bathrooms were both out of the way and… fairly unsightly, so they tended to not get a whole lot of foot traffic, either by students or faculty.

Which was fine for now. Even if talking on her phone hadn't been against school rules, Connie still wanted some privacy for her conversation.

After several minutes ringing, there was a beat of silence and she thought the voicemail was going to pick up, but instead Connie's heart skipped a beat when she heard his voice, "Hello?"

"Steven," Connie breathed with relief. "I… didn't think you were going to pick up."

"Oh… Hey, Connie," Steven said. He sounded a little… strange.

"Are you alright?" she asked concernedly. "Spinel hasn't… done anything, has she?"

"Sorry, Connie. I can't really talk right now. Pearl and Spinel are making lunch." He spoke very carefully, putting just a slight emphasis on Spinel's name.

Connie picked up right away on what Steven was insinuating. "Right. Well, I'll be quick. All the changes Spinel's made, at least the ones we've noticed, have all been positive. At least, as far as I can see. I was just talking to Peedee during lunch and he said that the Gems and the residents of Beach City have a very amicable relationship. Like, everyone in town knows what the Gems do, and they appreciate it."

"I see…" Steven said simply.

"And you've said that you wished the Gems and everyone in town had a better relationship with each other, right? Well, think about some of the other changes. Our date, my parents… These are all things either you or me… or we both wanted to happen."

"Uh huh."

"So are all the changes Spinel's made to everyone been things that we wanted? Or maybe the changes have been things that each altered individual wanted," Connie mused.

"That's not really something I can explain over the phone, Connie. Lunch is almost ready," Steven replied.

Connie sighed. "Right." She paused for a second, glancing around her surroundings. She was still alone, but she knew the bell was going to ring anytime now. She needed to wrap this up. "Alright… Just some things to think about, I guess." She sighed again. "I'm sorry, Steven. I should have known Spinel was probably around. I shouldn't have bothered to call."

"That's okay, Connie. I… could really use hearing your voice right now."

Right then, Steven didn't sound like he had during the rest of the phone call. He sounded… genuine. Like himself.

Connie felt the knot of tension in her stomach loosen a little.

"Yeah, alright." She could feel her cheeks flush. "Thanks, Steven. I'll… leave you to lunch."

"Okay, Connie. And… Don't worry. It'll be alright." And like a lever had been pulled, he went back to talking in the stiff, wooden way he had been. "After all, Spinel makes the best lunches."

Connie heard what she thought was Pearl in the background disagreeing with what Steven had said. She then thought she heard Spinel's rebuttal.

"Be careful Steven," she said.

"Okay, Connie. Hope you do well on your test."

She smirked. "I will. Bye, Steven."

* * *

"Bye, Connie."

Steven hit the end call button. He then placed the phone back on his bedside table as he glanced down from the loft and over to the kitchen where Pearl and Spinel busied themselves with lunch. Without taking his eyes off of them, Steven moved his hand under his pillow, feeling the notebook tucked carefully underneath it.

He gulped.

 _Changes that we wanted…_

He felt his jaw clench. Not in anger so much, but in frustration. Connie had raised a good point. While Steven wouldn't describe all the changes wrought by Spinel as positive, (Using Peridot's gem as a power source, not to mention Garnet missing with barely a trace left of her) most of the alterations Spinel had made around her could be considered good. At least in some sense of the word.

He looked down towards the kitchen and still saw Spinel and Pearl moving about, busily preparing lunch. Pearl was chatting easily with Spinel, who was wrapping what looked like meat, cheese, and assorted veggies in a tortilla shell. Spinel must have just said something humorous because Pearl laughed, in fact she laughed so hard she had to cover her mouth with her hand. Spinel grinned back at her as she moved the plate of prepared tacos over to the kitchen's island.

Steven let out a stifled groan. It seemed like every time they learned more details about what Spinel is doing, all it does is raise more questions. Most of the alterations Spinel has made are positive. Alright, but why? Why is Spinel doing any of this? What's her game? Is she from Homeworld? Is she a distraction or doing recon for an invasion?

That could be a possibility… Pearl had said that Spinel was a master spy in her story about the Rebellion mission, though it would be odd for Spinel to effectively out herself like that, if this was the case. But maybe that just spoke to how sure she was of her abilities. She could leave important tibbits, like her potentially being a spy or even the notebook just lying around because that's how confident she was.

"Steven! Lunch!"

Steven blinked and realized that he was still staring at the two of them. Spinel had called him, but neither of them were looking at him. Instead they were admiring the meal that they had made.

He sighed softly. Maybe if he could get Pearl alone he'd tell her about his… suspicions. Otherwise, it was likely Spinel had some sort of plan prepared for just sort of an occasion. And besides, how he would even begin such a conversation, he didn't know.

"Steven, come on," Spinel called. "We want your opinion on this before Amethyst gets back."

"Alright. I'm coming," Steven replied simply. He slid off of his bed, checking under his pillow again for the notebook before walking down the stairs and heading over to the kitchen. As he did, Steven did his best to keep Spinel in his line of sight.

"Are you sure she'll like these?" Pearl asked still looking down at the plate of tacos on the kitchen island.

"Sure," Spinel shrugged. "I mean, Amethyst isn't really that picky about what she eats."

"I know," Pearl sighed. "But… Well, you saw her when we were heading back to the temple."

"You saw Amethyst?" Steven asked as he approached the island, consciously keeping it between him and Spinel. "She did seem kinda… down after what happened at the barn."

"You saw-?" Pearl gasped. "Steven, you didn't…" Pearl pinched the bridge of her nose. "I told all three of them not to move to phase two until you had left."

"You mean with Amethyst and Peridot…?" Steven asked simply.

Pearl sighed. "Yes."

"It's okay, Pearl. I saw it and I'm fine," Steven assured.

"That's-" Pearl sighed again. "Steven, that's not…"

"We didn't want you to see that, Steven," Spinel said. Her grin was gone, replaced by a look that was tinged with regret. Her eyes flicked over to Pearl, who was standing there silently. "Pearl told them specifically not to… do it until you were gone." She looked back at Steven, her smirk returning, though it was small and still outlined in melancholy. "You're a… real trooper, Steven. But there are things we still want to try and avoid having you see." Her smirk faltered once again as she looked away. "Like having to see a person you care about having to poof another person you care about."

"Really, it's okay, Spinel," Steven said. "I'm doing fine. I mean… it had to happen, right?"

"It didn't," Pearl interjected before Spinel could respond. "This didn't have to happen, Steven."

"Pearl," Spinel said softly. "Please, we've already been over this."

"I know, Spinel. But that doesn't mean I… That I like it."

Spinel narrowed her eyes at Pearl. "And you think I do? Using my friends gem as a power source isn't something I relish." She looked down at her hands, which rested on the island. "But… with the time limit we're on… We were out of options."

"No, we weren't," Pearl shot back. "What about the archival room that the pyramid was in? Or all the bits of junk and scrap that Amethyst has in her room? We barely considered those options."

"We did consider them. But again, without knowing when the fuel cells would give out-"

"So that justifies turning Peridot into a… a power source? Like Homeworld does with cracked gems?"

"Peridot was the one who suggested it!" Spinel said, the volume of her voice rising as she spoke.

"But that doesn't make it justifiable," Pearl countered. "Gems on Homeworld offer themselves up for harvest all the time."

"We're not harvesting Peridot," Spinel shot back. "Once her machine opens the cube, we're going to remove her gem and she'll reform. That's not harvesting."

Pearl rested her face in her hands. "I know, I know…" She sighed. "But it still feels like it…" She lowered her hands and glanced over at Steven, who was still silently standing on the other side of the island. "I guess I was just hoping we'd never have to do this again…"

"I know, Pearl," Spinel replied as she stepped over to her side. She then laid a hand on Pearl's shoulder. "You, me, and Amethyst all tried to persuade Peridot to use our gems rather than hers. But she said that your gem and mine wouldn't produce enough energy and Amethyst and Lapis's gem would produce too much. As terrible as it is to say… it had to be Peridot."

Pearl was silent for a moment before responding, "Right. Yes, I remember." She sighed again and looked over to her side, "I'm sorry, Steven," she said to him, Steven noticing the telltale glisten in the corner of her eyes. "We shouldn't be arguing like this in front of you."

"We're not arguing. We're enthusiastically discussing," Spinel corrected, grinning. "And besides, it's good that you don't feel comfortable with this. If you did… well, then we would be like Homeworld, wouldn't we?"

"Yes, you're right, Spinel, of course," Pearl conceded. Spinel let her hand drop from Pearl's shoulder. She looked back over at Steven, putting on a somewhat forced smile. "And Steven, if you need to-"

"Hold that thought, Pearl," Spinel interrupted, "I think I hear someone coming up the stairs."

Once she finished, Steven did indeed the sound of heavy footsteps coming from outside. After a few seconds, the front door opened, revealing Amethyst.

She looked better. At least, better than she had at the barn. As she walked over to the three of them, Steven noted that Amethyst's hair was tied up into a ponytail. In fact, as she drew closer, Steven saw that it looked like Amethyst had literally just tied her hair into a knot in order to put it into a ponytail.

"Hey, guys," Amethyst greeted simply. She looked at each of them in turn. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Spinel answered smoothly. "Steven was just helping Pearl and I finish lunch."

"Yeah?" Amethyst asked. "What is for lunch?"

"These," Pearl answered as she pushed the plate of tacos over towards Amethyst. "Tacos, right?"

Amethyst smirked a she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, P. Those are Tacos."

"Why don't you have some?" Spinel offered. "Steven told us you were feeling a little… down after phase two. So we thought you could use a pick-me up."

"Uh, geez guys… I appreciate the thought and junk, but I don't really feel like eating right now," Amethyst said, rubbing the back of her neck. "I actually just came by to see if I could… uh, borrow Steven for a bit."

"Borrow me?" Steven asked.

"Yeah. Just for a walk or something," Amethyst said.

"'A walk or something'..." Pearl repeated. "Are you sure you're feeling alright, Amethyst?" Pearl asked.

"I'm feeling fine, Pearl," Amethyst shot back, a slight edge to her voice. "I just wanna talk to Steven. You know, privately."

Pearl and Spinel exchanged looks with each other, before Pearl said, "Alight, just if it's okay with Steven."

"Your cool with a quick walk and talk, right dude?" Amethyst asked, looking at Steven.

"Sure. Yeah, Amethyst. Let's go," Steven said slowly.

"Alright. Let's head out."

As sudden as this was, it did give Steven an idea. Connie had been able to get some useful information from Peedee. Maybe he could do the same with Amethyst.

"Have fun, you two," Spinel called after them as Amethyst opened the door.

Amethyst called over her shoulder, "Put those tacos in the fridge. I'm gonna want them when we get back." She then headed outside. Steven was about to join her when he heard Pearl call him.

"Wait a moment, Steven," she said.

Steven turned around to face her.

"Try and get Amethyst to… open up a little," Pearl said.

"Don't try and force anything," Spinel quickly added, folding her arms across her chest. "But, yeah. What Pearl said. You know how Amethyst can bottle things up." She looked down at the floor. "Try as I might, no matter how many talks I have with her, she always has such a hard time opening up…"

Steven nodded, as well as felt a few pangs of guilt. It was most likely true that, as much as she was hiding it, Amethyst was probably just as upset over what had happened at the barn as Steven was. Maybe even more so. And all Steven could think about was trying to get information out of her when in reality all she really needed was someone to talk to.

This situation kept finding new ways to make Steven feel terrible.

"Come on, dude. Let's go," Amethyst said, standing next to the stairs leading down to the beach.

"Go on, Steven," Pearl said, taking the uneaten plate of tacos and starting to wrap them in cellophane. "We'll be here when you get back."

"Okay. I'll… see you guys later," Steven said.

"Yeah, we'll see you later, Steven," Spinel waved.

Steven turned back around and left through the door, closing it behind him.

* * *

They walked in silence on the beach for a while. The sun hung high in the sky over them, however there was a cool breeze coming off of the ocean.

Despite her stated desire to talk, Amethyst had been quiet ever since they had left the temple. Finally, Steven felt like he needed to break the silence.

"Your hair looks nice like that, Amethyst," he said.

"Yeah?" Amethyst asked. "Peri likes it up like this to. Says it makes me look 'more aesthetically pleasing'." She pulled at the knot in her hair to tighten it a bit more. "Thought I'd have it like this for when she regains her form."

"Oh, that's nice," Steven replied.

Silence fell before them again.

Amethyst sighed, before speaking, "Okay, let's cut to the chase dude. What's up?"

Steven blinked. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Don't gimme that," she replied. "I mean, I know talking about your feelings and stuff is usually Spinel's department, but…" She shrugged lightly. "If _I_ notice something's wrong, it must be pretty bad. So spill it. What's wrong?"

 _Spinel's an imposter who has been doing something to us to insert herself into our lives for some nefarious purpose!_

"Nothing's wrong," Steven replied simply.

"Pff. Yeah, right," Amethyst blew off. She paused for beat before continuing, "Is this about… ya know, Connie? I mean, if it is, I can understand. Things with Peridot have been getting…" She looked away as her face began to flush. "Pretty intense…" she finished.

"No, it doesn't have anything to do with Connie," Steven hastily replied.

"Are you sure?" Amethyst asked. "Ever since you and her got back from your date yesterday, you've been acting weird. You've been a lot quieter than usual and you look like you're constantly nervous about something." She rested her hands on her hips. "A lot of things can slip my notice but… I do see when my Ste-man is acting weird."

Steven felt the lump in his throat move. "I-... I'm sorry, Amethyst," he said slowly. "This whole situation is-" He caught himself, stopping before he revealed too much.

But it was too late.

"Situation? What situation?" Amethyst asked, before gasping suddenly as her eyes turned to wide saucers. "Oh man…" she said. "This _does_ have something to with Connie."

"No, it doesn't!"

Amethyst sighed, the frustration she felt evident on her face. "Then what? C'mon, dude! Throw me a bone here!"

Steven said nothing, instead only looking away from Amethyst.

"Look," Amethyst breathed. "I'm not really good with the 'feelings' stuff. You know that, but…" She rested both of hands on the back of her head. "I still want to help ya, if I can."

Steven still kept his silence, though now more from feeling like he couldn't talk due to the tightness in his throat.

"Just… I wanna…" Amethyst struggled with her words. "I'm worried about you. Pearl and Spinel might be willing to just let you come to them when you're ready but, I… know what it's like to feel like you've messed up and… don't feel like you have anyone to talk to." She stepped closer to him. "If you don't want to talk about it then, ya know, I can't make you. But just…"

For the second time today, Steven saw the glimmer of tears in the corners of the eyes of someone he cared about. He gulped, trying his best not to join her.

"After what happened at the barn with Peridot, I… I shouldn't have let Spinel talk me into it. I didn't like it from the start, even with Peri agreeing to it." She paused as she wiped her eyes dry. "But… even though I've known Spinel for so long, I didn't feel like I could disagree with her about it. And now… I just feel terrible over the whole mess."

Steven could feel his lips tremble. He wanted to talk, to say something. He wanted to tell Amethyst that it was going to be okay, that if she wanted to, she could talk to him about it. But that's not what came out of his mouth.

"You don't know who Spinel is."

The suddenness and unexpected nature of Steven's comment seemed to throw Amethyst for a loop.

"I… don't know her?" She looked at him confusedly. "What do you mean?"

For a split second, Steven considered trying to walk his statement back. But then he remembered his thought about trying to get Pearl alone to tell her about Spinel. Though it wasn't Pearl, maybe this was his chance.

"Last night, after Connie and I got back to the temple… well, that was the first time either of us had ever met Spinel before."

She blinked at him several times in rapid succession. "W-what…? That's… That's not even close to being true. Spinel's known you for as long as you've been alive."

"No, she hasn't," Steven shook his head. "She's not suppose to be here. Garnet is."

"Garnet?"

"Yeah…" Steven replied heavily. "But you don't remember her."

"Well, no. But I know about her. Pearl and Spinel have told me about her before."

Steven shook his head again. "That's not how it happened. Garnet was able to get away. And then she joined the Rebellion. And she's suppose to be here with us now."

"The fusion Spinel and Pearl saw… joined the Rebellion?"

"No, Spinel wasn't there."

Amethyst paused for a moment, a strained look on her face. "Okay, run this by me one more time. You're saying… what, all our memories of Spinel are wrong?"

"Not just that. We don't know who Spinel is."

"So… she altered our memories to erase us knowing Granite-"

"Garnet."

"Yeah, Garnet. We're suppose to know who Garnet is, but not Spinel. And the reason we don't is because Spinel has messed with our memories."

"Right," Steven confirmed.

"... You do realize how insane that sounds, right dude?" Amethyst replied.

He winced slightly, "Yeah, I know…" Steven said. "But it's true. That's why I've been so on edge. You and Pearl have been acting strange and… I've been trying to keep an eye on Spinel."

"And Connie believes all this too?" Amethyst asked.

"Yeah. She said she's never met Spinel too. And she remembers Garnet."

"Alright, then both of you are insane," Amethyst said.

"We're not, though!" Steven argued. "Yesterday was the first time we met Spinel."

"Right. So… If Spinel's messed with our minds, why didn't she mess with your's or Connie's?"

"She did," Steven replied. "There's a two day long blank spot in my memories and Connie can't remember yesterday afternoon. We think those are the times when Spinel had altered our memories."

"Well, what happened? Spinel just let you two go?" Amethyst asked, a sarcastic smirk appearing on her face.

"We… don't really know. The last memory we both have is fusing," Steven said.

Amethyst chuckled. "Maybe that's what did it. You two fused and that's what undid it." She shrugged cheekily. "Maybe that's why she got rid of Granite."

Steven could feel his cheeks redden. This wasn't going the way he wanted it to. And unfortunately, it was now too late for him to try and take the whole thing back.

Amethyst must really think he was crazy now.

He was about to try and enter damage control… somehow, when a voice that sounded not unlike Connie's, whispered in his head:

 _That's it. That's the connection. Fusion counteracts Spinel's powers._

Steven could feel his mouth hang agape as his mind raced to to put his sudden realization into perspective.

"Uh… You alright, dude? I was just kidding," Amethyst said.

"No, you're right!" Steven excitedly exclaimed. "Fusion is the key! It's how Connie and I escaped Spinel's control! And… it's also why she got rid of Garnet."

"I wasn't being serious, dude. Spinel hasn't done-"

"Amethyst," Steven interrupted, speaking very solemnly. He knew what he had to do. "You need to fuse with me."

"Fuse?!" Amethyst sputtered. "I… dunno. I've never fused before."

"You have," Steven replied, taking Amethyst false memories in strides. "When you fuse with Pearl, you make Opal. And when you fuse with Peridot, you make Atlantisite."

"Me and… Dot fuse?" Amethyst said, her face immediately flushing with color. "Did… we didn't do that?... Did we?"

Steven nodded. "You did. I remember her myself. She was so excited to meet everyone." He smiled. "Well, excited and nervous."

Amethyst was silent for a second before slowly responding, "I… don't remember that… But it feels right… Does that make sense?"

"Yes, it does!" Steven replied eagerly, his smile widening. "On some level… the memory is still there."

"And… You think fusion will…" She shook her head. "No, this is crazy. Pearl would kill me if she knew I was letting you talk me into this."

"So? Since when has that stopped you?"

Amethyst laughed. "Yeah, true."

A beat of silence passed.

"Please, Amethyst," Steven said, putting a hand on her arm. "Just… do this… for me. You have nothing to lose. Either you get your proper memories back or… it turns out I'm crazy."

"Yeah, but…" She looked away towards the ocean's waves. "I dunno…"

"Don't you trust me?" Steven asked.

Amethyst snapped back around towards him. "Of course I do! I'd trust ya with anything!"

"Then, please. Trust me now… You know I'd never do anything to hurt you."

"Yeah, I know dude…" She inhaled before exhaling heavily. "Alright. What do I need to do?"

"Give me your hands." She did so, Steven taking them in his own. "This is a simple hand dance Connie taught me. We've used it to fuse before."

"Okay, how's it go?"

"Just follow my lead."

Steven began to to lead them both in the hand dance. It was slow going at first and, at one point, they even had to start over due to Amethyst getting completely lost. But after awhile, they began to get into each others rhythms. Eventually, Steven could begin to feel the familiar buzz of fusion beginning to rise up within him. He saw light emanating first from under his shirt, and then from Amethyst's gem on her chest. He instinctively closed his eyes as the light grew brighter and then…

* * *

They fell backwards to the ground. They felt their fingers dig into the sand. All fifteen of them.

No, wait. That doesn't seem right, does it? They raised their arms, flaying their hands before their eyes.

Three hands. That's weird. Or is it? They weren't sure.

The skin on their arms was a dusky, grey color, speckled with lighter spots. There was a word for that color of grey, wasn't there…

"Smoky…"

Yes. That felt right.

 _No, wait. This isn't right. I was at the barn with Peridot and… and then Lapis and that Gem came in and attacked us! I remember that, so why am I at the beach now? What's-_

The voice grew louder in their head as they braced themselves against the ground. They couldn't keep their thoughts straight.

 _Steven, really, what's going on!? What is this-_

* * *

Steven hit the beach hard as he and Amethyst diffused. He tried to brush the sand out of his hair as he slowly rose to his feet. Just across from him, he saw Amethyst was doing the same.

"Ow, dude. That was intense," she said, just a little unsteadily. "Is fusing with you always like that?" However, before Steven could answer, Amethyst seemed to regain her sense of self. "Wait! No, that's right." She quickly rushed over to Steven's side. "What are we doing on the beach? I remember we were talking about… you… and Peridot and… other things… but that's it."

She scowled at the ground. "But before that…" Her eyes shot open as her gaze returned to Steven. "That's right! I was at the barn with Peridot and… then Lapis and this Gem I didn't recognize came in and Lapis used water from the pond to attack me and Peri. Then when we were down, the strange Gem… touched my cheek and then… I remember being on the beach with you." She glanced away. "Steven, what's going on? Do you know who that Gem was?"

Steven however didn't answer her. Instead, he jumped at her, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

"Dude, what-... Are you alright?"

"I'm sorry," Steven softly sobbed. "I'm sorry, Amethyst. But… You're finally back." He hugged pulled her closer.

"You're back now."


	5. Calm Before the Storm

"But how do you know if ya never tried it?" Amethyst asked, a cheeky smirk on her face.

"For the same reason I know warping a ship into the center of a star would be unwise. Simple deductive reasoning," Peridot shot back.

Amethyst shrugged. "Aw, c'mon, dude. Earth is full of great things to eat! I could tell ya my favorites."

"That… won't be necessary, Amethyst. And besides, my… lack of shapeshifting talent would hinder the experience anyway. Taste buds and a digestive tract are needed to optimally enjoy eating."

"Hm. Yeah, I guess…" Amethyst conceded. She had completely forgotten about Peridot's inability to shapeshift. "Still… there's gotta be some work around."

Peridot glanced up at Amethyst, who was lounging in the seat of the tractor. "Perhaps… Perhaps, when we fuse again, Atlantisite can 'eat' some food and I will be able to experience it. Er, _If_ we fuse again, of course!" Peridot hastily added. "I… don't want you to think we have to fuse…"

Amethyst grinned. Peridot was still getting used to fusing. "It's alright, Dot," she reassured. "You're not 'forcing' me. Fusing with you is fun."

Peridot looked away, embarrassed. "Yes, well… Fusing with you is also fun, Amethyst."

Amethyst laughed. "Yeah, it is." She hopped off of the tractor and put her arm around her friend's shoulder. "Now… What food should she try?"

Peridot was about to answer when her attention was drawn over to the barn's entrance. Amethyst followed her gaze and saw Lapis standing in the entrance way. Except she looked… different. No, she looked angry. Really angry.

Her hands were balled into fists and Amethyst saw teeth clenched into a nasty scowl. But most frightening were her eyes. They were ablaze with a heated fury. And they were both focused on the pair of them.

"L-Lapis?" Peridot asked unassuredly.

Lapis didn't respond at first. Instead she took a heavy step towards them and as she did, Amethyst noted that suddenly it felt a lot more humid around them.

"You," she said simply, her voice laced with venom. Her focus shifted to Amethyst. "You imprisoned me in that mirror for centuries."

"Uh… Well, that actually happened before I was-"

"But you knew about me!" Lapis yelled, cutting Amethyst's shuddering defense off. "You knew I was in the mirror and you did nothing about it!"

Amethyst gulped. She hadn't seen Lapis this mad since… well, since when she was first freed from the mirror.

"Lapis," she began slowly. "I… thought we'd put all this behind us."

"Behind us!?" Lapis bellowed with disbelief. "It may be easy for you to 'forget'. When you were found by the Crystal Gems, they welcomed you with open arms." Amethyst saw Lapis clench her fists even tighter as she spoke. "But when I was found… All they did was keep me as some kind of… battle trophy."

"That's not true," Peridot intejected. In the rush of Lapis's entrance, Amethyst had forgotten that Peridot was still here. "The Crystal Gems had no idea your consciousness was still in your gem."

Lapis's heated gaze turned from one gem to the other. "Don't you try an take the moral high ground," she snarled. "You're just as guilty as her."

Amethyst felt Peridot take a step back from Lapis's barbs.

"You're the one who brought me back to this planet," Lapis threw at her. "You brought me back here when all I wanted was to go home!" she yelled. Amethyst could feel cooling moisture on her face. It was like Lapis was so mad that she was increasing the water density in the air.

Amethyst stepped forward, while at the same time gently pushing Peridot behind her with an outstretched arm. "C'mon, Lapis," she said as easily as she could. "Let's head back to the temple and talk this out with Pearl and Garnet. And Steven."

However, Amethyst must have said something wrong, as she saw Lapis's face twitch before the gem held an outstretched hand towards them. Amethyst saw the water shooting towards them just a few seconds before it would hit. She quickly pushed Peridot out of the way, but this left her with no time of her own to dodge. The water swept over her, taking her off her feet and slamming her against the tractor that still stood behind her.

The attack had hit hard, something Amethyst already had experience with. But she wasn't out yet. She looked up and saw Lapis was gathering water into an orb above her. She was readying a supply of water for round two.

Amethyst began reaching towards her gem, but Lapis noticed right away and, with a flick of her wrist, sent another column of water speeding towards Amethyst. This time, however, Amethyst rolled out of the way, letting the water batter itself against the tractor.

Her roll ended with her on the other side of the barn, but she was now on her feet. Crouched, but on her feet. She hurriedly summoned her whip to her hand and leapt from her spot as another watery attack came her way.

Lapis wasn't messing around.

"W-wait! Lapis!"

Amethyst looked to her side and saw Peridot running towards them. She stopped right in front of Lapis, her arms held out as if to block any more of Lapis's attacks.

"Please, Lapis," Peridot urged. "What are you doing? Amethyst is our friend."

"She's your 'friend'," Lapis said. "She was my jailer."

There was a beat of silence before Peridot responded.

"It's true," she slowly conceded. "The Crystal Gems have made mistakes. But… they're trying to be better. Just like I am!" Peridot took a step closer to Lapis. "So… Just let Amethyst go back to the temple. And… And you and I can stay here at the barn and… watch some Camp Pining Hearts."

Amethyst heard Peridot's voice lose some of it's tension.

"We're in the middle of the dodgeball tournament arc, remember? You said you couldn't wait to see how it ended." She lowered her arms, taking another step towards Lapis. "What do you say?"

"Peridot…"

"Yes, Lapis? What do you need?"

"Get… Get out of my way!"

Lapis sideswiped the air in front of her, causing a mighty stream of water to erupt from her sphere and slam itself into Peridot, launching the green Gem across the barn and against the distant wall.

"Peri!" Amethyst called.

With one shift movement, she pulled another whip from her gem and, now fully equipt, lashed them at Lapis, who leapt back to avoid the attack. But that gave Amethyst the opening she needed. She reared back and shot her whips towards Lapis again, but this time, had each one wrap around her wrists.

Amethyst smirked as she tugged on both whips, causing Lapis to stumble forward. However, the sphere of water remained hovering above her. Amethyst yanked on them again, producing similar results, but this time Lapis countered, not by pulling back, but by causing a pair of watery wings to sprout from her back. She leapt into the air, her wings beginning to flap, as she flew out the barn entrance, dragging Amethyst into the air with her, the sphere of liquid still floating above her head.

Amethyst held tightly onto her twin whips as Lapis made constant sharp turns in an attempt to shake off her unwanted passenger. In response, Amethyst began to slowly climb up her whips, trying to reach the flying gem.

 _If I can just grab hold of her…_

Lapis had other plans it seemed, as she quickly banked a turn, causing Amethyst to lose her grip on one of her whips. It flew out of her hand, dangling from Lapis's wrist, before finally disapparating in a shimmer of light.

Amethyst didn't get even a fraction of a chance to resume climbing. With a simple gesture, Lapis sent a torrent of water rushing at quartz gem. Amethyst futilely held up her arm, the water slamming against her and wresting the whip from her hand.

She fell, and slammed hard against the ground.

Gem first.

Amethyst could already tell the damage to her gem as, when she was trying to get up, her right arm suddenly retracted into her body, causing her to lose her balance and flop to the ground. Before she could try and get up again, she felt water flow over her, pinning her to the ground.

She saw a shadow drape itself over her and looked up expecting to see Lapis, but instead saw… a completely unfamiliar Gem.

"Good job, Lapis. Though, I asked you not to damage her gem," the stranger said.

"I'm sorry," Lapis apologized as she entered view as well. She shot a venomous look down at Amethyst. "She deserves worst."

"Maybe," the Gem said, grabbing Lapis by the arm. "But be careful. Don't let your desire for revenge consume you."

Lapis's expression seemed to soften a bit. "Right. Of course. Sorry, Spinel."

"Is the peridot here?"

Lapis nodded. "Yes. She's probably still in the barn."

"Bring her out here," the gem said.

"Hey!" Amethyst barked. "You better not hurt Peridot!" The strange Gem's attention turned towards Amethyst.

She crouched down almost to eye level with Amethyst.

"I'm not going to hurt anyone," she said earnestly. "You have my word."

"Is that why you cracked my gem, ya jerk?" Amethyst muttered before continuing, not giving the stranger a chance to respond. "What'ja do to Lapis?!"

"The same that I'm about to do to you. I'm afraid that I need to… borrow you and your friends." The gem shrugged lightly. "But don't worry," she smirked. "You'll be completely happy while I need you and, when I'm done, you won't remember anything."

The Gems eyes turned from Amethyst to a point behind her. She could hear Peridot yelling, clearly beginning to panic, "Lapis! What are you doing!? Let go of me!"

"Restrain her over there," the gem said, pointing to a place behind Amethyst. "I'll be with her in a second." The Gem looked back at Amethyst. "In order to make this go smoothly, for all of us, I ask that you restrict that energy output of your gem."

"Restrict my-... What are you talking about?" Amethyst asked, still pushing against her restraints.

Spinel's brow furrowed. "You're a quartz, right? Restricting the energy output of your gem to preserve its charge _is_ something you do, right?"

"Peridot has said that she's an era quartz," Amethyst heard Lapis say from behind her. She could then hear the sound of running water as Lapis put Peridot in similar restraints.

"An era one quartz…" Spinel said, looking surprised. "One of the last to ever enter production." She smirked. "Very impressive. You really are an elite." She laid a single hand on Amethyst's cheek. Amethyst could see her gem on the back of it.

"Are you still going to be able to do it?" Lapis asked simply.

"I believe so," Spinel answered. "It's just going to be… more difficult. And more painful, for both of us." She looked away from Amethyst, to a point somewhere behind her. "If I strain myself too far and I lose my projection, keep these two restrained until I reform."

"Okay, Spinel," Lapis said simply.

Spinel looked back at Amethyst. "Now, then," she said lightly.

The stranger's hand still rested on Amethyst's face for a few seconds, before her vision suddenly shot white and she felt a burning sensation in her chest. It was so intense that she thought she was going to split in in two at the sheer force of it, but then-...

"...then, that's all I remember," Amethyst finished. She and Steven both sat on the beach, the temple behind them in the distance.

Steven was looking down at his hands, a concerned look on his face. Amethyst could certainly understand why. Based on what little he had said, that Gem, Spinel, was still running free doing… whatever it was that she was doing.

"How are the others?" Amethyst asked. "Are they… like Lapis?"

Steven shook his head. "No, they're not. Well, I mean, Spinel's messed with them, but they're not angry and violent like you said Lapis was." Steven looked up from his hands. "In fact, everyone seems… happier with Spinel's influence."

"Happier?" Amethyst asked in disbelief.

He nodded. "Everyone just seems really… happy. Pearl isn't as tightly-wound, Connie's parents are more trusting of her… in fact, everyone in town knows all about our Gem Business and… they love us for it."

"Really? Like everyone in Beach City?" Amethyst asked, feeling a tinge of discomfort at the idea that Spinel had expanded her horizons to include humans.

"Based on what Peedee told Connie, it seems so," Steven said. "She said that everyone appreciates us for it."

"Huh… That's…" Amethyst trailed off. She wasn't quite sure what to think about that. She largely divided humans into two groups. In one group were humans like Greg or Vidalia. Humans who were cool to hang out with and could handle knowing a little bit about what the Gems did. But the other group… As Garnet said, it was best if they didn't know what happened beyond their notice.

But now… Everyone in town knew. And they… appreciated them for it?

This felt… weird to Amethyst.

She gulped, already dreading what the answer to her next question was going to be. "And Peridot? Is she… happier too?"

Steven's lips thinned as he glanced away from her. His expression matched Pearl's whenever someone asked her a question she didn't want to answer. Amethyst knew it well.

"C'mon, dude. Don't hold out on me," Amethyst said. "What's wrong with Peridot?"

"Well…" Steven began slowly. "When I went to the barn earlier today she was fine. You and Lapis were both with her."

"Lapis? She wasn't teed off anymore?"

"No," Steven said. "She was… well, really happy. She smiling and laughing and making jokes and stuff."

"Lapis smiling? Oh, man. That's creepy," Amethyst groaned. "Okay, what about Dot? And me?"

"You were both really…" Steven paused a moment before sighing. "I'm just going to say it," he said, his face coloring just a little. "When I got to the barn, the first thing I saw you do was tackle Peridot to the ground and… start kissing her."

"Kissing!?" Amethyst cried as she felt her face flush. "Like… what humans do? With their lips?" She looked down at her hand that was dug into the sand, before looking back at Steven and asking, "Did Peri like it?"

"She seemed to," Steven answered, the color in his face deepening. "But she was working on some device. Something to open a… a storage cube?"

"Storage cube? Like they use on Homeworld?"

Steven shrugged. "I'm not sure. It's at the barn now. But… There are two more major things that happened. And… they're not good."

"Hit me, dude. I'm ready," Amethyst assured.

Steven inhaled and exhaled deeply before continuing, "Garnet is gone. And no one has any memories of her."

"Gone? What… And no one remembers her? Like… Pearl doesn't remember her?"

"No one does. Or, no one but you, me, and Connie," Steven said.

Amethyst grimaced at her feet. "G's like the strongest person I know… And Spinel was able to just… what? Is Garnet even…?"

She trailed off, but Steven seemed to pick up exactly what she meant. "I… Yeah, she has to be alright," Steven said. "Spinel probably just has her captured somewhere."

"How do ya know?" Amethyst asked.

"Because of what you said," Steven answered. "That Spinel told you she wasn't going to hurt anyone."

"Well… yeah, but she's probably lying, dude," Amethyst said dryly.

"But she hasn't yet. At least as far as we've seen," Steven retorted. "I mean… She has the power to mess with people's memories and she uses it to makes them happy. Why would she do that if she didn't care about hurting anyone?"

"Uh… Because she can?" Amethyst shrugged. "And besides, she had Lapis attack me. _And_ my gem was cracked."

"But it's not now, right?"

Amethyst glanced down at her chest, her gem peeking over her shirt. She pulled her shirt down, revealing her full gem. It looked completely pristine.

"Lapis just got a little overzealous. Spinel said she hadn't wanted you or Peridot to get hurt. And even though your gem did get cracked I… Spinel must of had me heal you." Steven said.

It made sense. Sort of, at least. But… Amethyst still couldn't shake the feeling that… that Garnet, that Ruby and Sapphire might be…

"Okay, so Garnet's not here right now," Amethyst said simply. "What was the other thing you mentioned?"

Steven shifted uncomfortably where he sat. "Um… While I was at the barn… Peridot was building the device to open the storage cube."

"Yeah. You said that already."

"Right, and… in order to start it…" Amethyst heard him audibly gulp. "Peridot needed a power source."

"Yeah…" Amethyst said slowly.

"And… the power source she ended up using was… her own gem."

Amethyst let out an involuntary gasp. "She… Peridot's… being used as a battery?" She scowled at the ground. "Spinel poofed my Dot…"

"Umm…" Steven muttered.

"What? What is it, dude?" Amethyst said heavily. "What else did Spinel do?"

"Umm… Well, Spinel didn't poof Peridot," Steven explained, looking down at his lap. "Y-you poofed her."

Amethyst felt like she had been punched in the gut she took in what Steven had said. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. Just a jumble of confused sounds.

 _Peridot's gem… Is being used as a power source… And… I did it..._

"As far as I could tell, Peridot's gem is fine," Steven continued. "I heard Spinel telling Pearl that, once the machine's done, Peridot will be able to reform-"

Amethyst wasn't listening. Instead, she stood up, her hands clenched into fists and her face masked with anger and outrage.

"Where is she?" Amethyst asked simply.

"Who? Peridot?"

"No. Spinel."

"She's at the temple with Pearl, I think…" Steven answered nervously. "Why?"

Amethyst didn't respond. She merely turned and began to march back towards the temple.

"Wait, Amethyst!" Steven called, quickly rising from his seat and following after her. "What- What are you doing?"

"Uh, simple," Amethyst said, not slowing a bit. "I'm gonna bust in there, hold Spinel down, and make her tell me what she's doing and why." She hit her fist into her open palm. "Then I'm probably gonna punch her in the face."

Steven sped up, putting himself in front of Amethyst to physically stop her. "You can't do that."

Amethyst snorted with annoyance. "Why not? First she has Lapis attack us, then she-" Amethyst swallowed back a small yelp. "She… made me poof Peridot. To use her gem to power some machine…" She looked away, not wanting to let Steven see the tears beginning to sting her eyes.

"I know you're upset, Amethyst," Steven said gently. "But… we still have to keep a clear head."

"Clear head?!" Amethyst threw back. "I am being clear headed! We-... We can't just let Spinel keep doing what she's doing."

I know, but… we don't know if Spinel has found out we're free," Steven said. "She… probably knows that Connie and I are, but she doesn't know you are now. We should keep it like that, so that when Connie gets out of school, the three of us can make a plan."

"I got a plan already. It involves punching her."

That's not-... That won't work here," Steven sputtered.

"And why not?"

"Because she still has Pearl, Lapis, and Peridot held hostage!"

Once again, Amethyst felt like she had all the words that she wanted to say pulled right out of her mouth. She just looked at Steven, his eyes were alight with a strained determination.

"What if you go to the temple and start threatening Spinel and she… she has Pearl crack her own gem?" he asked simply. "Or does something that I… can't heal?" He cast his gaze downwards. "I want to help. Just as much as you do, Amethyst. But… Spinel isn't like any threat we've face before. We need a different approach."

Amethyst was quiet for a few seconds before she asked, "So you think we should wait for Connie?"

Steven nodded. "Yeah. If the three of us put our heads together, then I'm sure that we can come up with a plan."

Amethyst looked past Steven and at the temple in the distance. It looked so calm and peaceful, like it always did. If Amethyst didn't know otherwise, she'd say that it _was_ calm and peaceful. But it wasn't, of course. And in fact, until recently, Amethyst _didn't_ know otherwise. The only reason she did now was because of Steven.

"Alright, dude," Amethyst sighed finally. "We're wait for Connie and come up with a plan together." She looked back at him and smirked lightly, "I guess you're the one leading the mission this time."

Steven fidgeted a little and then nodded, "This is a team effort. That's why we're waiting for Connie."

Amethyst chuckled. "Yeah, whatever you say, dude."

When they got back to the temple, is was mercifully empty.

Amethyst sighed with relief. Even though she had agreed with Steven to wait for Connie, if Spinel had been here… Well, I was probably best for the plan that Amethyst didn't see Spinel quite yet.

"When's Connie get out of school?" Amethyst asked.

"I… I'm not really sure," Steven said, scratching his his head. "It's sometime in the afternoon, but I'm not sure when exactly. But there is something we can do in the meantime." He hurried up the stairs to his loft. "I found something at the barn and-"

The barn. That's where Peridot was. Or, where her gem was. Steven had said that Peridot's gem was fine. That, when the machine was finished, she'd be able to reform. As if nothing had happened.

Except it did happen.

And…

The only reason Peridot was in that machine was because… because she was poofed. By Amethyst.

"-and I thought since you can read Gem writing, you could help me go through it." Steven was back at her side, with what looked like a yellow notebook in his hands.

But Amethyst still didn't pay it any mind. She began to walk towards the warp pad. "I'm heading to the barn," she said simply.

"The barn," Steven said knowingly. "Why are you going there?"

"I…" There was no point lying Even Amethyst could see that Steven was looking right through her. "I want to see Peridot."

Steven didn't answer right away. He looked at Amethyst, then down at the notebook, and then back at her.

"Alright," he said, nodding. "We can go-"

"Actually, dude… I kinda want to go by myself."

Steven looked confused by Amethyst statement at first, but again slowly nodded. "Okay. I'll stay here and keep watch. If Spinel comes back before you do, I'll… come to the barn to and we can get back to town the long way."

"Yeah, okay," Amethyst said simply as she began walking towards the warp pad. She stepped onto it, only to pause where she stood. She turned around and looked over at Steven, who still stood where he had been, the notebook in hand.

"Peridot will hate me once all this is over," she said softly.

"She won't," Steven sad firmly. "You were under Spinel's influence."

"It doesn't matter! I poofed her, dude. It's my fault that… that she's…" Amethyst said as she turned back around.

"It's not. Spinel's the one to blame. Not you, Amethyst," Steven returned.

"But I…" Amethyst said softly. "I'm an elite…"

"Amethyst… Are you sure you sure you don't want me to come too?"

Amethyst didn't answer. Instead she let the warp pad activate and take her off of her feet and engulfing her in the warp stream.

During the short trip, Amethyst held a finger on her gem, Peridot's words echoing through her mind…

" _You're an elite to me!"_

Amethyst closed her eyes and began to try her best to not lose herself.

"I'm sorry, Dot…" she sobbed softly.

"I'm sorry…"

"I didn't really think much of it at first. But once season two starts up, you begin getting really invested."

Spinel nodded her head. "I'm sure, Lapis. But… I've never really been one for Earth's entertainment."

"Well you should try some, Spinel," Lapis said as she lazed on the couch.

Spinel put on her practiced smirk. "Not all of us are like you and Peridot. Some of us have work to do."

Lapis raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to say something, Spinel?"

The Gem shook her head. "No, of course not. Keeping Peridot out of trouble is already a full time job."

Lapis laughed. "Yeah, you don't know the half of it."

Spinel grinned. She knew she shouldn't be indulging this.

With Peridot's machine now activated and diligently decoding the cube, there wasn't much to do besides wait. But despite that, she knew that she shouldn't be… enjoying this as much as she was. The Gems, Steven, Connie, the humans in town… They were all just an unfortunate means to a necessary end. Once the decoder machine was finished, she'd swipe the contents of the cube and leave their lives forever. Connections would just complicate things.

Still… It felt good to have someone to talk to again…

Her gaze drifted from Lapis down to the ground level of the barn. She could see Peridot's gem faintly glowing from its place in the machine.

"Something on your mind?" Lapis asked, drawing Spinel's attention back to her.

"You could say that," Spinel said.

"Peridot?"

"Among other things," Spinel replied simply.

Lapis looked as if she was going to respond, but she she was preempted by the sound of footsteps entering the barn. They both looked down towards the entrance and saw Amethyst standing there, a distraught look on her face.

"Amethyst?" Lapis asked, getting up from the couch and using her wings to softly land on the floor below. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

Amethyst didn't say anything in return, she simply looked Lapis up and down before her eyes shot upwards at Spinel, who had begun to climb down the ladder to join them.

"Is… Is everything alright?" Lapis asked again.

"Yeah. I mean, as much as it can be," Amethyst answered, taking her eyes off of Spinel as she approached.

Lapis's expression melted into one of sympathy. "This is about… Peridot, right?" She folded her arms across her chest. "This must be so hard on you. When you left earlier, I saw how upset you were." She glanced over at her shoulder at Spinel, as if expecting her to add something. However, Spinel remained silent.

Amethyst looked away from the two of them and towards the table where the decoder machine was. Seeing this, Lapis stepped aside.

"You want to see her? It's okay, Amethyst" she said gently.

Amethyst did so, slowly approaching the table and staring at the device. Her eyes drifted all over it, going from the machine, to the cube, and finally to Peridot's gem. She slowly raised her hand, as if to touch the gem, but stopped herself before she could. Instead, she just lowered her hand, took a few steps back and then turned and began to quickly walk away.

"Hey, Amethyst," Lapis called. "What-... Are you sure you don't want to talk?"

Amethyst cast a… very intense look over her shoulder. Spinel felt an odd tingling sensation around her gem.

"I'm good," Amethyst said simply. "Just…" She looked at Spinel. "Nevermind," she said as she turned back around and began to walk away.

"Huh. That was… weird," Lapis said, puzzled by Amethyst strange behavior. "I know Amethyst is upset, but still… Her behavior was kind of odd."

Spinel didn't hear anything Lapis said, though. Her mind was a racing in a frantic panic.

Amethyst knew. That all there was to it. Somehow, either through luck or intuition, Steven had figured out the way to undo Spinel's powers.

And now Amethyst was cleared headed again.

 _With just a touch you can blank Lapis's mind and then you could chase after Amethyst and alter her memories back._

No, that was stupid. If she didn't manage to catch Amethyst off-guard, which was very likely considering her state of mind, then Spinel would have no chance in a straight fight.

 _Then get Lapis to restrain her again!_

The alteration barely held on Lapis before. The only way it did was by playing up her repressed anger at the Gems. And then she went too far and cracked Amethyst's gem. And to top it off, when Spinel lessened the anger just a little, Lapis almost broke out of it and let Peridot get free. If she had been able to get away and warn Steven, the plan would have been over before it began.

 _All the more reason to not let Amethyst walk away free!_ _Remember what you told yourself when this started. You're the author, not a character in this story you've written. You can't let yourself become attached._

Spinel just looked at Amethyst's increasingly shrinking visage.

 _Trying to prove the fusion wrong is pointless. You are dangerous. And that's what's getting you through this. You're lying to yourself if you think otherwise._

Spinel could feel her jaw clench in protest.

"Spinel?"

Lapis's voice drew Spinel out of her own mind and back to the present. She looked over at Lapis who had a very concerned look on her face.

"Are you alright?" Lapis asked. "You kinda zoned out there for a second."

"Yeah, Just… thinking." She smiled easily. "It's been one of those days, you know?"

Lapis smiled back. "How about you take a break then? Maybe finally give some Earth entertainment a chance?"

Spinel paused for a moment before answering, "Yeah. You know what? Why not?" she shrugged. "Go set it up, Lapis. I'll be there in a second."

Lapis nodded eagerly. "Right! You won't regret this, Spinel." She summoned her wings and flew up to the loft and began to busily prepare.

Spinel looked back at Amethyst. She was almost completely out of sight now. She then stole a glance at her own gem. She ran her fingers over it, grimacing as she did.

"Almost… I'm almost there."

Spinel then did her best to put all of this out of mind as she turned around and made her way to join Lapis in the barns loft.


	6. Working Together

Connie sat in her algebra class, her eyes constantly darting from the math problems she was supposed to be solving and the clock that seemed to be intentionally ticking even slower than usual. She stole a look at her teacher, Mrs. Winslow. She still sat behind her desk, flipping through papers and occasionally consulting her computer.

Connie turned her attention back to the paper on her desk. Of the twenty algebra problems that had been assigned to be solved, she had only done seven. Not that it really mattered. The problems were technically assigned as homework, but… Connie had the sneaking suspicion that she wouldn't have the chance to do any homework tonight.

She closed her eyes, trying her best to focus her mind on what she was doing now, but everytime she did, it would always wander back to Steven and the Gems.

And Spinel.

Connie began to feel her stomach lurch in place. She looked back at the clock and saw the minute hand still hovered over the nine.

Two more minutes until the bell rang.

Two more minutes until she could reach into her bookbag and assure herself that Steven was okay.

She forced her eyes open and tried her best to casually look around. Mrs. Winslow was still looking through her papers and Connie's peers were all busily doing their work. No one had seemed to noticed the frightened look that had crept onto her face.

Connie focused her eyes back on her desk. She forced her expression to look as calm and neutral as possible. Her mother had always told her that worry and concern could be used to fuel action, but that letting it overtake you when there was no action to take was only detrimental.

A good thought, but one that could be hard to put into practice when the time came. Like right now for instance, when all of two minutes was what was keeping Connie from, if not relieving her of her fears, at the very least putting them at ease.

 _*Steady your breathing. Stance widened, body lowered…_

This was the zillionth time Connie had gone through Pearl's warm-up training in her head. At first it had some calming effect, but now it just felt like a futile attempt in trying to convince herself that she wasn't afraid.

She looked back at her homework, sighing heavily as she did. If push came to shove, she could finish the thirteen problems she had left on the bus tomorrow and during her other classes when she had time.

It wouldn't be the first time she would finish her homework like that. Not since she had met Steven.

Just as she was turning her head in order to get another look at the clock, the familiar, electronic tone that served as a bell broke through the silence of the room and the whirling dervish of Connie's mind. In one smooth motion, Connie placed the homework in her folder, her folder in her bookbag, and then hung the bag over her shoulders beelined for the door out. As had been the pattern that day, she was the first one out the door.

Connie bolted down the hallway, quickly moving past doors that were still opening to let students out. The sidewalk outside the hall, leading towards the buses were completely empty when Connie got to them. She paused briefly out here, wondering if she should call Steven and see if he wanted to pick her up on Lion. She had begun to reach into the pocket of her bookbag when recognizable voice called to her.

"Hey, Connie. Over here."

Connie saw, to her surprise and continued stress on her nerves, that it was Amethyst, leaning nonchalantly against one of the metal poles holding up the cover over the sidewalk.

Connie began to slowly walk over to her. "Hi, Amethyst," she spoke carefully. "What, um… What are you doing here?"

The Gem pushed off against the pole. She looked… normal enough. Other than her hair being tied into a tight ponytail. She also held what looked like a yellow notebook under her arm.

Despite Connie doing her best to look natural and at ease as Amethyst approached, she could still tell that her face twitched ever so slightly with every step Amethyst took.

Amethyst seemed to pick up on this right away. She smirked lightly as she approached, holding out her hand as she did.

"Calm down, Connie," she said. "It's okay. I'm… You know. Not with Spinel anymore." She spoke as if she herself were unsure how exactly to phrase what had happened while Connie had been in school.

By this point, Connie could begin to hear her peers coming out of the hall. "Come on, Amethyst," Connie said, gesturing for Amethyst to follow her. "We'll talk where we can have some privacy."

The private place ended up being the same wooded area that Lion and Steven had dropped Connie off at that morning. Amethyst was again casually leaning against something, a tree this time. She looked like she wanted to look at ease, as if this was just another day but, well that was the thing. Connie could tell that she was trying really hard to seem unaffected.

Whatever had happened during today… Connie was almost afraid to ask for details.

"So… You're not under Spinel's influence anymore?" Connie asked, realizing that it was a pointless question.

Amethyst was silent of a moment, before shrugging lightly. "Yeah, I still am," she responded simply.

Connie was struck speechless by what Amethyst had said. That wasn't the answer she was expecting. She had thought, whether Amethyst was under Spinel's influence or not, she'd say no. Either truthfully or in an attempt to try and deceive her.

As if in response to Connie confusion, a large grin broke across Amethyst face as she laughed. "Hehaha!… Oh, man. He was right," she said, trying to talk through the laughter. "You fell right for it."

Connie blinked as she tried to process what Amethyst was saying. "I-... Who was right?"

"Steven, dude," Amethyst answered, beginning to regain her composure. "He wasn't sure you'd believe me without him being here, so he told me to say that." The last of her giggles began to disappear as she picked the yellow notebook off the ground. She had dropped it while laughing at her joke.

"Why did he tell you to say that?" Connie asked, not feeling any of her confusion lessen.

"Prove to ya that I'm really me," Amethyst answered. "Isn't that from one of the books you two read together?"

"Oh yeah!" Connie realized suddenly. "That's the same way Archimicarus proved to Lisa that he was free of the Magical Mind Snare in 'Welcome to the Witch Wilds'..." She trailed off. "Only someone who read the book would know that reference." She looked back over at Amethyst. "So… he did send you. And you're free of Spinel's influence."

Amethyst nodded. "Yep. Sure am."

"How'd you do it?" Connie asked. "Did Steven find out the way to counteract Spinel's powers?"

She nodded again. "Yeah he did," Amethyst said. "'Course, he had some help from your's truly…"

"And what is it? Are all the other Gems free now? What about the other residents of Beach City?"

Amethyst held up her hands to try and slow the advance of questions. "Woah, calm down. One at a time."

Connie sighed inwardly as she chided herself for getting too far ahead.

 _*One at a time._

"Okay, how did Steven help you break out of Spinel's influence?" Connie asked calmly.

Amethyst held up a finger. "One word: fusion."

"Fusion?" Connie asked. "You and Steven… fused?"

"Yeah we did," Amethyst replied. "Though considering I was just coming to my senses when we did, it didn't really last that long."

"I see… How did he figure that out?" Connie pointed at the notebook in Amethyst's hand. "Does it have to do with that?"

"I don't think so," Amethyst answered. "He told me he figured it when he was trying to get me to remember Garnet. When I was still messed up, ya see. Said that's why Spinel… did something to her. She was a Fusion and fusion messes with her powers. So she couldn't get to her."

Connie nodded her head. It made sense. After all, she and Steven did regain themselves after they fused. Though, the idea that Spinel was able to overpower Garnet was still very disquieting. "So fusion counteracts Spinel's powers… What about Pearl, Lapis, and Peridot? Are they free now too?"

Amethyst was silent for a beat before saying, "Nah, they're not."

"Why?"

""Because… Spinel is keeping them close. After a trip to the barn, Spinel followed me back to the temple and invited all of us to watch that camping show with her and Lapis. Pearl took her up on it."

"She did?" Connie asked, finding it hard to imagine Pearl watching a television show.

"Yep. So now she, Spinel, and Lapis are at the barn marathoning their way through the series," Amethyst said.

"I see… So no talking to Pearl and Lapis about fusion," Connie said.

"Yeah. Not with Spinel hanging around. Who knows what she'd do if we brought it up."

"Hmm… So, with her keeping a close eye on Pearl and Lapis, do you think she knows that we're free? I mean, Steven and I have just assumed, but…" Connie trailed off.

Amethyst shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe? Does it matter?"

Connie thought for a moment before answering, "No, I suppose not. We're already keeping a close eye on Spinel and moving as fast as we can. No real change, I guess."

"Right. Which, I guess, leads us to what you and me are gonna do," Amethyst said, pushing off from her tree. She held up the notebook and tapped it with her finger. "Steven found this at the barn."

She handed it to Connie, who opened it and began to trace her eyes over one of the pages only to find that the symbols written on it didn't make any sense to her.

"Is this Spinel's notebook?" Connie asked, flipping through more of the pages.

"That's what Lapis told Steven. Said it was a bunch of stuff she copied off of some database," Amethyst answered.

"And can you make sense of it?" Connie asked.

Amethyst grinned. "Course I can. That's the Gem language."

Connie raised her gaze from the notebook. "The Gem language? It looks like _this_?"

"Yeah. What'd you think it would look like?"

Connie began to answer, only to to stop herself and wave the thought off. "Nevermind." She glanced back at the notebook and then back at Amethyst. "Have you gone over it at all?"

"Nah… To be honest I haven't been… ya know, myself, for very long. And… I had to pay a trip to the barn first thing. To see Dot."

"Peridot?" Connie asked. "Why? Is Spinel… having her do something?" Connie asked.

Connie could see Amethyst visibly deflate as she asked the question. "Ah, dude… Yeah, Peridot's…" She looked down at her feet as she kicked a nearby stone. "Peridot's not in a great spot," she said simply.

"I… Are you alright, Amethyst? Is Peridot…" Connie wasn't really sure what to say. On the one hand, she wanted to know what Spinel had done to Peridot, but on the other, it was pretty clear that Amethyst didn't like talking about whatever had happened.

"Oh, man… Okay, really short version:…" Amethyst quickly summed up everything that had happened that day at the barn, from Spinel's attack to Peridot's gem being used as a power source.

"That… That sounds horrible," Connie muttered as Amethyst finished.

"It * _is_ horrible," Amethyst replied. "And what's what, we have no idea what's in the cube or why Spinel wants it."

"Right… Then, what are we doing? What's our plan?" Connie asked.

"Well, me and you are gonna find a quiet place to sit down and we're gonna go through this notebook. If it was Spinel's, maybe there's something useful in it."

Connie nodded. "Okay. But… Where's Steven?"

Just as when she had asked about Peridot, Connie could she Amethyst suddenly grow extremely uncomfortable at her question. "Er… Right, Steven… He's, uh…"

Connie's brow furrowed. "He's what, Amethyst?" Connie asked, sounding not unlike her own mother.

Amethyst's eyes kept darting from side to side, as if desperately seeking something that would distract from the conversation. "Uh… He's…" Sighing with defeat, she looked at Connie regretfully and said simply, "He's at the barn with Pearl, Lapis, and Spinel."

"He's what?!" Connie cried, forgetting temporarily that there were still many students within earshot across the street. "W-why is he there?!"

"Because he want's to keep an eye on Spinel. And on Pearl and Lapis," Amethyst said. "You know how he is. He doesn't want to risk any of them getting hurt." She folded her arms across her chest. "And considering what happened to Peridot… I can kinda see where he's coming from."

Connie pursed her lips in silent protest. Rationally, she could agree. Having someone stay close to Spinel in order to keep an eye on her was a smart move… But on the other hand, she really wish Steven hadn't done so. As guilty as it made her feel, she wished Amethyst had been the one to stay and she and Steven were going to be the ones to look through the notebook.

"Sooo… We should probably get to reading, ya know?" Amethyst said, holding the yellow notebook up in front of her.

Connie frowned at the ground. Regardless of what she wanted, this was the plan that Steven had decided on. The best she could do was trust in him and try to put her worries aside.

Something that was easier said than done.

"Yeah, alright Amethyst," Connie said finally, looking back at the Gem. "Why don't we… head to my house? We should have some privacy there."

A good idea, if she said so herself. Mom and Dad shouldn't be home yet, so bringing Amethyst home shouldn't be too much of problem.

Amethyst grinned at the proposition. "Ooh… I can finally see how ya live, Connie. I can't wait." She glanced over her shoulder before looking back. "There's a warp pad not too far off, I think. Let's head out." As she began to walk, she began giggling softly to herself. "Oh man…" she said. "I can't wait to get the full tour, dude. First things first. I gotta see your parents rooms. I bet it's like Pearl's room. All perfectly organized and junk. But there's no fun there, ya know? I mean who wants to use all that time to clean?…"

Amethyst continued talking, however Connie simply gulped as she began to follow after her.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"Mom? Dad? Are you home?" Connie called as she opened the front door to her house. There was no response, as expected. She sighed contently, letting Amethyst in and shutting the door behind them. It was best that her parents weren't home. They still got on edge whenever Steven came over. She could only imagine what they would feel with Amethyst roaming about.

 _*Then again, in their altered state of mind, maybe they wouldn't mind after all…_

Connie quickly pushed the thought aside.

The sooner she and Amethyst could go through the notebook, the sooner she could get them in their right minds again.

Amethyst let out a low whistle as she looked around the living room. "Man, dude. Swanky place ya got here."

Connie glanced around, wondering for a second what exactly Amethyst was referring to. The living room was as it always had been, coat rack next to the door, floral print couch next to a side table next to a floral print loveseat. If it were anyone else, Connie would just assume they were being polite, but she doubted Amethyst had that kind of tact in her.

"It's home," Connie replied simply.

Amethyst hopped on one of the couches, immediately turning so as to lay on it. "Oooh… This is really nice," she said as she crossed her legs.

"Yeah, my grandmother gave us the couch and the loveseat." Connie was somewhat unsure what to say. Small talk had never been her forte, but she really wanted to move Amethyst along so they could start looking through the notebook. "Why don't we head up to my room so we can get to work?"

"Aw, come on, dude. Why can't we do it here?" Amethyst asked as she stretched where she lay. "I mean, have you laid on this couch? It's really nice."

Connie began to put up an argument, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth it. It didn't really matter where they went to work anyway, just that they did so soon. "Fine, alright," she said. She waited a moment for Amethyst to lay out the notebook, but when we she just continued to lay there, Connie said, "Come on, Amethyst. Where's the notebook?"

"Oh, right." Amethyst reached behind back and withdrew the yellow notebook, handing it to Connie. "Guess we better get started, eh?"

Connie took the notebook and opened it. She sat down on the floor, next to Amethyst's face. "Have you read any of this yet?"

Amethyst turned onto her side and shook her head. "Nah," she said simply.

Flipping through the notebook's many, many pages, Connie couldn't help but sigh.

 _*Of course not…_

 _*Why couldn't Steven had freed Pearl first?_

She quickly shook the thought away. That was, of course, unfair to both Steven and Amethyst. She had just as much urgency to be freed from Spinel's grasp as Pearl did. And regardless of personal differences, Amethyst was still a Crystal Gem. She was dedicated to protecting the Earth, just as Pearl was.

As if in response, Connie heard a small, but very full sounding belch next to her ear. She turned and saw Amethyst with an apologetic look on her face."Ahh… Sorry, Connie. Can't remember what I ate, but it's starting to kick, if ya know what mean," she grinned.

Connie did, as she had to hold her nose to guard against the wafting smell. "Argh, Amethyst… That's terrible!"

"Sorry," Amethyst apologized. "For what it's worth, I probably wouldn't have eaten if I knew I'd be doing something so soon after."

"Right," Connie said, waving her hand in front of her nose, trying to clear the stench as quickly as possible. "Well, let's just forget it and get to work, alright?"

"Good idea, dude," Amethyst responded. She sat up and then slid off the couch, landing on the floor next to Connie. "Guess we start at the beginning, right?"

"I don't know where else to start," Connie said, flipping to the front page of the notebook. She passed one side of it to Amethyst, the two of them holding it between them.

"Yeah, guess not…" Amethyst pressed a finger against the first character on the page and began reading: "'Center of Communication'… 'Colony 89657'… 'Planet designation'… 'PD-1'…"

Over an hour passed like this, Amethyst reading a location, a designation, and serial number. Connie would occasionally have a question, though Amethyst rarely had an answer, a fact that had slowly begun to grate away at her.

"So… You don't know what the purpose of this place was?" she asked about 'Storage Center 3956-T4'.

"Um… Not really, dude. Usually, either Pearl and Garnet tell me about a place or… I just know," Amethyst said. "Like that one we read a few lines back… Uh… Yeah, the 'Quarry Center'… I know that's a place where quartz gems like, live and train and fight each other, and stuff."

"But Spinel's probably not a quartz…"

"Uh, yeah. Probably not…"

Connie sighed in frustration. She clamped her eyes shut, trying her best to keep from screaming.

"Uh, Connie? Ya okay?" Amethyst asked hesitantly.

 _*No I'm not okay, Amethyst. We've been at this for an hour and haven't gotten anywhere._

"Yeah, I'm fine, Amethyst," Connie answered. "Just… a little frazzled, I guess."

"Yeah, I can see that," Amethyst said. "Why don't we take a break? Regroup and stuff."

Connie paused a moment before answering, "Alright, that's… probably a good idea." She laid the notebook on the ground and stood up as she continued, "I'm going to go splash some water on my face. Try and refresh myself a little."

"Okay, dude. I'll keep flipping through pages while ya do that.."

Connie left the room, moving through the kitchen and into the hall. She walked by the guest room, passed the downstairs bathroom and instead began to walk up the stairs at the end of the hall. She climbed the stairs and began walking down the upstairs hall. She walked by her parents room, past the upstairs bathroom, and finally stopping in front of her room. She pushed the door open and she almost felt surprised by what she saw.

It was just her bedroom, everything in order as she had left it. Her bed was neatly made, the various paper, binders, and textbooks were all in neat piles, her bookshelf still organized by genre. Even her bedside table, with her alarm clock and her phone charger, both justing sitting there like… nothing had happened.

Connie thought it would be comforting to see her room, her space, untouched by the events that had unfolded. But instead, all it felt was unreal and otherworldly. And that just pressed into sharp relief what had happened.

She stepped through the threshold into her room and sat gingerly at the foot of her bed. Without even really consciously acknowledging what she was doing, Connie bent over and reached under her bed pulling out Rose's sheathed sword.

Not the ideal place for it and not where Connie would want to keep it but… She kept it there for her parent's sake. They both knew about it, of course. After the night at the hospital, Connie had more or less come clean about everything she had been doing with the Gems (more or less…). And she had kept the sword openly in her room for a while, but every time Mom or Dad had come in, their eyes would always be drawn to the sword and Connie could see the gears in their heads turning.

 _*How dangerous is what she's doing?_

 _*Does she fight monsters all the time?_

 _*Can the Gems be trusted to protect her?_

 _*Can Steven?_

They never voiced any of these questions, at least not to her. They would just grimace for a moment before continuing on with the reason they came in. So Connie hid the sword out of sight, for her parent's mental well-being and by extension, her own. Still, even when she didn't have practice with Pearl, she would still occasionally pull the sword out from under her bed and just… gaze at it.

Connie knew of Rose's legacy. As least, as much as anyone who didn't witness it first hand could know. Many times during training, Pearl would call for a break and then proceed to tell Steven and herself stories about Rose's exploits during the Gem Rebellion. The stories were nothing short of awe inspiring, painting a legacy that anyone, Gem or otherwise, would have trouble living up to.

The sword was Connie's connection to that legacy. She didn't believe in fate, or destiny or anything like that. But in some small way, it sometimes felt like she was meant to inherit the sword so that she, along with Steven and the Gems, could continue to uphold Rose Quartz's legacy. So whenever she was feeling unsure about herself or anything she was doing, she would make her way to her room and just gaze at the ancient weapon and remind herself of that legacy and her part in it.

At least, most of the time.

This afternoon, however, looking at the sword simply exasperated Connie's unease and worry. Instead of seeing the sword's proud tradition of heroics, all she saw was her inability to stop Spinel and save the Gems, the town, and even her own parents.

All she saw was her own personal failure.

Connie did her best to quell these thoughts but… they were, if nothing else, persistent and eventually, Connie had to quickly put the sword back under her bed, hiding the ill thoughts away with it.

Not feeling much better, Connie fell backwards onto her bed, her feet still dangling over the side. She closed her eyes, trying her best to clear her thoughts and her head.

 _*I wish Steven were here._

 _*And Pearl too…_

 _*Together, the three of us would be able to save everyone, no problem…_

For several long minutes, Connie just laid on her bed, her eyes resting and her mind drifting peacefully from thought to thought.

Until, at least, she heard the laughter.

And it wasn't laughter of just one person either. She could hear two distinct voices laughing and talking to one another. One was Amethyst and the other… Connie felt a flutter in her stomach. She jumped off her bed and hurriedly walked downstairs and went into the kitchen to find Amethyst casually sitting on the counter, eating what looked like a cupcake in a single bite. And in front of the refrigerator was Mom, placing a tray of similar cupcakes onto the shelf.

"Connie, you didn't tell me you were going to have someone over this afternoon," she said as Connie entered the kitchen.

"Aw, well it's not really her fault, Dr. M," Amethyst answered for her, still chewing her cupcake. "I just kinda ran into her and followed her home."

"I see… Connie, did you finish your homework?"

"Yes," Connie lied. "I finished it during class."

"Well, I suppose Amethyst can stay over for a while. But not too late. You still have school in the morning." She paused, her hand still resting on the handle to the refrigerator. "Would you like a cupcake, Connie? Danna brought them in for Jules's birthday."

"Uh, no thanks," Connie answered simply. "Amethyst and I are in the middle of something." She looked over at the Gem. "And we should probably get back to it."

"Yeah, I guess so," Amethyst said, hopping off the counter.

"Oh? And what are you two working on?" Mom asked with a smirk.

"Uh… It's uh…"

"It's a surprise," Amethyst interjected. "For you and Mr. M."

"Oh, really? A surprise Connie?"

"Y-yeah. A surprise. For you and Dad," Connie numbly repeated what Amethyst said.

"Hm. Well, then let me get out of your way," Mom said as she walked out of the kitchen. "I'll be in the bedroom if you need me, Connie."

"Okay, Mom," Connie replied simply.

Connie waited until she heard Mom's footsteps upstairs before she turned towards Amethyst, only to she that she wasn't there. She rushed back to the living room to find Amethyst sitting on the floor, the notebook pushed half under the couch, and the tray of cupcakes that Mom had put in the refrigerator sat carefully in her lap.

"Ya know, these are pretty good," Amethyst said as she stuffed another whole cupcake in her mouth. "You sure you don't want one?"

"Yes, Amethyst. I'm sure…" Connie tersely responded. She could feel the tense frustration simmering in her chest as she consciously uncurled her fists. "Why did you lie to my mom?"

"Uhh… Because I thought it would be better than telling her that everything she remembers isn't true." Amethyst replied.

"But now I'm going to have to come up with some sort of surprise, or else she'll find out anyway!"

Amethyst shook her head as she popped another cupcake into her mouth. "Na-uh. Remember? You forget everything that happened when your memories were mixed up."

Connie opened her mouth to argue, but found that she had to concede the point. If Steven, Amethyst, and herself were any indication, it was unlikely Mom would remember the wayward promise, but… Now that she had promised to be honest with her parents (doubly so after the… unfortunate way they had met Stevonnie), it still felt wrong that she was lying to Mom, even if that lie was fairly innocuous and probably the best move.

"Alright, fine," she sighed. "Can we just get back to work?"

Amethyst shrugged. "Yeah, I guess… But ya know, I thought you were gonna relax a bit?"

"...I am relaxed Amethyst."

"Nah, you're like Pearl whenever me or Steven track mud into the house. Here." She picked a cupcake from the tray and held it out for Connie. "Have a cupcake dude. It'll make you feel better."

"I don't want a cupcake, Amethyst…"

"Come on…" Her arm began to stretch out, holding the cupcake inches away Connie's face.

"Amethyst…"

"Come on. Just open up, girl," Amethyst said as she began pressing the cupcake against Connie, bits of frosting beginning to get on Connie's cheeks. "It's got spriiiiinkles."

"Amethyst, please…" Connie tried to pushed Amethyst's elongated arm away, but she persisted. "Please, I just want-... Amethyst, I-... I just-... Amethyst!" Connie slapped Amethyst's hand away, causing the cupcake to fall and land on on the ground with a muted splat.

"Uh… Sorry, dude," Amethyst said, retracting her arm and sounding unsure about what just happened. "Just thought you could use a cupcake…"

"I don't need a cupcake, Amethyst. What I * _need_ is to finish going through this notebook so we have something to help lead us to whatever Spinel's plan is."

"Well, yeah. I know that…"

"Then why aren't you taking this seriously?"

"I am taking it seriously, dude," Amethyst said. "I wanna get to the bottom of all this just as much as you do."

"You're not acting like it! I come back and you're in the kitchen with Mom eating cupcakes."

"Yeah, I was just taking a quick break." She raised an eyebrow. "Like you were."

Connie felt her cheeks flush. "You're the one who suggested we take a break."

"'Cause we needed one. Both of us did."

"We-... We can't be taking breaks! We have work to do!"

"Pfft… You do sound just like Pearl."

"At least Pearl would be useful right now!"

As what she said sunk in, Amethyst's expression began to sink into hurt uncertainty. "W-well… Sorry Steven freed me before Pearl, Connie." She rose to her feet, knocking the empty tray to the ground. "Here… I'll just go to the barn and get Pearl. Maybe I can get her to fuse and then she can help you while I just... go away…" Amethyst turned and opened the front door, closing it behind her with a loud bang.

A second of silence and Connie had to clamp her jaw tight in order to keep from screaming. She couldn't believe that she had just said that to Amethyst, that incredibly hurtful comment. Even… Even if that was how she kinda of felt…

 _*No, I don't. That's just my frustration at the situation talking._

She lunged for the doorknob and quickly rushed out door. She hurriedly looked around and saw Amethyst jogging down the street in the distance.

"Amethyst! Wait!" Her call did nothing but cause Amethyst to jog faster. Connie took off after her, running not jogging.

"Leave me alone," Amethyst shot scornfully at her as Connie caught up with her.

"Please, Amethyst," Connie implored. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Amethyst stopped suddenly in her tracks, causing Connie to run into her. As Connie regained her balance, she could see the shimmering look of tears on Amethyst's eyes.

"Yeah? Well it's too late. Ya already did." Amethyst's voice wavered as she tried to keep her composure. "And it's true, ya know. Pearl would totally be more useful now then I am."

"No, That's not true, Amethyst," Connie said. "I… I was just feeling really… anxious and frustrated by what's going on. I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that." She trained her eyes onto the ground. "If Pearl should replace anyone, it's me."

"Right," Amethyst huffed. "Connie: Pearl's prize student. The person who's already picked up everything Pearl's taught and then some." She crossed her arms and scowled into the distance. "You're Pearl's favorite, Steven's favorite… Why _shouldn't_ you be here?"

"For the same reason you should be. Because we want to help our friends."

"Yeah. And we've been doing a bang up job on that," Amethyst mumbled. "Steven's the only one who did anything useful. All I did was… hurt her."

"Hurt? Who?"

Amethyst looked back at Connie, her expression still filled with hurt and sadness. "Peridot. At the barn."

"Peridot? At… the barn? What do you mean?"

Amethyst glanced away. "Yeah. I left that part out… I… told you about Peridot's gem being used as a power source. But… I didn't say that… I was the one who poofed her."

Connie felt her eyes grow wide in surprise "You were- Oh. When you were under Spinel's influence."

"Yeah…"

"Well then, you didn't really do it. Spinel was forcing you to."

"Yeah, and that wouldn't have happened if I could have fought Lapis off," Amethyst retorted.

"You didn't want to hurt Lapis. You were just trying to defend yourself, not beat her."

"So? I still should have done better. If I could have broken out of Lapis's restraints and gotten at Spinel…"

"Your gem was cracked. You weren't operating at full strength."

"That doesn't matter! I still should have been better! Now…" She turned away and Connie could see her shoulders shaking. "Now Peridot's been harvested. And it's my fault."

Connie walked over next to Amethyst, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Amethyst, it's… Hm. Well, I can say from experience that 'it's not your fault' rarely makes people feel better. Instead, how about something a little different?"

"Like what?"

Before Amethyst could fully turn around, Connie hugged her. "No matter what happens, all we can do is try and be the best we can with whatever we're given. And if we stumble, whether actually or just in our mind, we'll always have friends around to help us regain our balance and keep moving."

Connie could feel Amethyst shaking a little as she pulled Connie even closer. "I… I…" she sobbed, unable to get anymore out. "Thanks…" she said finally.

The two just stayed there for several minutes, their arms wrapped around each other, their faces resting on each other's shoulders. Amethyst began to pull away and Connie released her hold.

Amethyst rubbed her eyes, drying the tear residue that covered them. "Thanks, Connie," she said again. "I… feel a little better."

"That's good. And… I am sorry for what I said, Amethyst."

Amethyst waved her off. "Meh, don't worry about it. We're all stressed out right now."

"No. I mean, that's not enough," Connie replied. "You have just as much in this as Pearl and I do… In fact, you probably have _more_ than I do."

"What do ya mean?"

"Well, you're the Crystal Gem here. Not me."

"Yeah, but not for much longer, if Pearl has her way…"

Amethyst went from looking somewhat relaxed to looking like she had just let an incredible detail slip. Her eyes slowly traced their way back up to Connie, who felt confused and a little surprised by the implications of what Amethyst had just said.

"Wh-what did Pearl say?" Connie asked slowly.

"Uh… Well, I mean… I dunno if…" Amethyst stammered before finally sighing with defeat. "Alright. But what I'm about to say stays between us, okay?"

Connie nodded.

"Right. Well, I overheard Pearl talking to Garnet a few days ago and Pearl said that she was considering making you an official Crystal Gem."

"An… official Crystal Gem…?"

"There'll probably be a test, if I know Pearl, but you'd ace it with flying colors," Amethyst said.

"Does… does Steven know this?"

"No, he doesn't. Neither of us are supposed to know. Pearl thinks we can't keep a secret."

"You did just tell me."

"Feh. Yeah, but this is different."

Connie began to smile. Despite the circumstances, despite the fact that they still had a lot to do, the fact that Pearl felt Connie could be an actual Crystal Gem… the mere thought was exhilarating.

"Well… As a potential future Crystal Gem, I guess we should probably finish looking through the notebook?" Connie said.

Amethyst smirked in response as she began to walk back towards Connie's house. "Yeah, whatever you say, Cupcake."

Connie began to follow after her. "Cupcake? Is that my nickname now?"

"Yeah, you're like those cupcakes. You're soft and sweet on the outside, but you've got a chocolate covered peanut center on the inside." Amethyst paused for a beat. "Or, you know. Something like that."

Connie said nothing, only laughing as the two continued down the street.

"'Sky Spire'… 'Colony 89657'… 'Planet designation'… 'PD-145'…"

"How many more pages do we have left, Amethyst?" Connie asked, glancing over at the notebook that sat in Amethyst's lap.

"Uh… One," Amethyst replied as she flipped the page.

Connie sighed internally. They were almost through the notebook and they hadn't found anything useful.

"Let's see… 'Science Lab'... Wait a minute…"

"What is it?"

"This designation number, it's not a number at all. 'YD-RNBW'." Amethyst looked up from the notebook. "That's familiar."

"How so?"

"A while ago, Garnet and I headed to an old Homeworld site. She said she and Pearl had been trying to get in, but couldn't. So she brought me to see if I could get in."

"And could you?" Connie asked.

Amethyst shook her head. "Nah. Door was too thick, no matter how many times I threw myself at it. But those letters, RNBW, they were printed across the door."

"Really?... Hmm… How long ago was this?"

"Like… maybe a week ago? I'm not sure. My sense of time is kinda shot."

Connie nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean." Connie leaned back in her seat on the couch. "Still, if it was a week ago, or round about there, that would be conveniently timed for Spinel's arrival."

"So ya think they're connected?"

Connie nodded her head again. "Maybe. Is there anything listed after that?"

"Uh… I'm not really sure. There's writing here, but it's so messy I can't really make heads or tails with it."

"Well… Whether Spinel's connected to it or not, it's our only lead right now, as strenuous as it is."

"Alright. Sounds good to me." Amethyst snapped the notebook shut. "What now?"

"We should try and get Steven away from Spinel so we can tell him about what we've found. Hopefully he has his phone with him…"

"'Kay. So we're heading back to the temple?"

"Yeah." Connie got up from the couch, Amethyst doing the same. "Er, wait. Hold on a second." She left through the kitchen, heading upstairs. She passed her parent's bedroom and entered hers. She bent down onto her knees and pulled Rose's sword out from under her bed, while also grabbing the strap that would secure it to her back.

Connie left her room and began walking back down the hallway, before pausing in front of her parent's room. She could see light shining from underneath the door. With only a moment's thought, Connie placed the sword next to the door, out of sight, and gently knocked on the door.

"Mom?"

"Yes, come in, Connie."

Connie opened the door and saw Mom sitting crossed legged on her bed, various papers strewn across it.

"Excuse the mess, dear," Mom said. "I wasn't able to finish this paperwork at the hospital."

"That's alright, Mom. I just… wanted to ask if I could go over to Steven's?"

Mom looked up from her work, laying a familiarly piercing gaze at her daughter. "Are you taking a warp pad with Amethyst?"

Connie shifted uncomfortably at Mom's use of the term. "Yeah. We are."

Mom was quiet for several moments before sighing. "It's a school night, Connie and it's getting late. You know the rules."

"Yeah… but-"

"I don't care if it's 'Gem Business'. It can wait until after school tomorrow."

"But… it's not Gem Business. It's… about the surprise I'm making."

Mom cocked an eyebrow. "Is it now?"

Connie nodded. "Yeah. If… I can go over and make the final plans with him, it should be ready tomorrow."

Mom pursed her lips in thought before relenting. "Alright. But I don't want you staying out late. As soon as the sun starts to go down, I want you home. No excuses."

"Alright, Mom. Thanks. I'll be back later."

Mom returned her attention back to her papers. "Okay, Connie. Be safe and call me if you need me."

"I will, Mom." She left the room and shut the door, feeling a strange mixture of relief and guilt over what she had just done. She grabbed Rose's sword and continued downstairs, fastening the sword to her back with the strap.

Amethyst was waiting in the living room. She eyed Connie up and down as she entered, but only said, "Ready?"

"Yep. As much as I can be," Connie said.

"Alright." She opened the front door. "After you, Cupcake."

"Thanks, Ame," Connie smirked as she walked outside. Amethyst followed her, shutting the door behind her.

The sun already hanging low in the sky and Mom's instructions still planted in mind, Connie and Amethyst began walking down the street, heading towards the warp pad that will take them back to the temple.

As all this ran through Connie's mind and the sword jostled on her back, she couldn't help but feel that very soon, one way another, all this "Gem Business" with Spinel would be over.

One way or another.


	7. Reformation

"But how could you say that?!" Percy yelled, his face red with anger.

"Because you've been spending too much time with Maribelle," Pierre retorted, his expression calm, but his clenched fists, betraying his true emotions. "She's filled your head with lies."

"What are you suggesting? That everything I know is false?!"

"Humans are so incredible," Pearl said, shaking her head at the television. "Who could possibly think that telling such audacious lies was a good idea?"

"You got me," Spinel replied casually. "Maribelle's just got some issues to work out."

Steven shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Spinel spoke. Even though his eyes were trained on the TV, his every sense was focused on Spinel. At least, as much as he could without looking obvious. But she hadn't done anything. The invitation she extended to Pearl and himself seemed genuine. They just ... watched watched some Camp Pining Hearts. Spinel had even allowed Lapis, Pearl, and Steven to have the couch to themselves while Spinel sat on the wood floor of the loft.

As if she was deliberately trying to put Steven at ease.

Spinel knew that he was free. He already thought she might, but her behavior now confirmed it. Which was kind of odd, since she acted largely the same as before. She was still all smiles, trying to exchange quips with Pearl,Lapis, and even Steven himself.

But there was something a bit different now, just below the surface. A slight edge to the way she spoke. Not to mention her gaze kept shooting back to the lower level of the barn and the machine that sat on the table. Even from up here, with the TV on, Steven could still hear the whirring sound as it continued its work, fueled by Peridot's gem.

But the most telling thing was how Spinel had been treating Steven. She spoke to him, engaged with him as much as he would allow , but at the same time she seemed to be giving Steven a wide berth. Yet despite that, every time he looked over at her, he could see her eyes quickly flicking away from him. She was watching him, closely. And he was doing he same to her.

"It just, there's no advantage to be gained. Lies are always found out in the end," Pearl said, crossing her legs.

Spinel shrugged, saying nothing.

Steven glanced down at his lap, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked back up and saw Lapis giving him a small smile.

"You okay, Steven?"

It had been Lapis's most repeated phrase that afternoon. Every time Steven's eyes drifted away from the television screen, Lapis would always ask that. And Steven's answer was always the same.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Lapis."

Lapis pursed her lips as she gave Steven's shoulder a firm squeeze. "Are you sure?"

Steven nodded. "Just… It's been a long day."

"I know what you mean," Lapis sighed. Her eyes drifted to the ground floor of the barn before quickly looking back at Steven. "Just hang in there a bit longer, Steven. We'll all see Peridot again soon."

"Yeah…" Steven looked back at the TV silently.

"What are you two talking about?" Pearl asked as Steven cringed internally.

"About today," Lapis answered simply, giving Steven's shoulder another short squeeze before letting go. "It's been an eventful day for all of us."

"Yes, it has," Pearl agreed. "In fact, I'm surprised Amethyst isn't here. She seemed hit hard by the whole affair as well." She paused, before continuing, "Where did you say she was going, Steven?"

Before Steven could even begin to think of a believable story, his cell phone rang. The simple five note melody told him it was Connie. Steven could feel jaw tighten as the ringtone continued to play.

Spinel asked, "That's Connie's tones, right Steven? You should probably answer that."

"Uh, yeah. I am," Steven answered as he stood from the couch and hurriedly fished the phone out of his pocket. He swiped the green "answer" circle on the screen and put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Steven? Hey… It's me. Connie."

All at once, Steven felt a significant weight off his chest. He casually stepped off the loft and slowly floated to the ground, landing gently on his feet.

"Hey, Connie," Steven said as he walked out of the barn, not daring to steal another look at Peridot's gem within the machine. "I guess Amethyst found you?" he added in a whisper.

"Yeah, she did."

"And? Did… did you find anything?" Steven asked.

The moment long pause before Connie answered felt like an eternity, but eventually she said, "We think so. Though it's not much of a lead."

Steven looked over his shoulder at the loft. Pearl and Lapis were still on the couch, watching television. He couldn't see Spinel.

"Where are you?" Steven asked.

"The temple," Connie answered. "We just got back."

Steven nodded to himself. "Alright. I'm coming. Just hang on and I'll be there in a minute." He looked over his shoulder one more time before he exited the barn and began to make his way to the warp pad.

"Alright, Steven. And…" Connie trailed off.

"Connie? What is it?"

"Nothing. Just… I'll see you in a little bit," Connie said.

"Okay. See you in a bit," Steven answered. He waited and heard Connie end the call before he did the same.

The light disappeared from the warp pad, revealing the house before Steven. But before he could orientate himself, he felt a firm hug wrap around him.

"Steven! You-... You're alright," Connie said as she buried her face into his shoulder.

"Of course I am," Steven replied, hugging Connie back and feeling the scabbard strapped to her back. "You just talked to me on the phone."

"I know," Connie replied as she broke away. "But… Well, it just feels better to see you face to face." She smiled at him sweetly.

"Uh, if you two are done, don't we have work to do?" Amethyst cut in, flashing Connie a knowing grin. Connie chuckled as she stepped off the warp pad, Steven following behind her.

"So, you and Amethyst found something?" Steven asked as they walked to the kitchen island. The yellow notebook was lying on top of it.

"Yeah, we did," Amethyst responded. "Well, kinda anyway."

"What do you mean?" Steven asked.

"The last entry in the notebook..." Connie quickly went over what she and Amethyst had discovered about the RNBW location described in the last pages of the notebook.

The explanation didn't take long and when finished, Steven simply said, "So… that's it?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Amethyst said. "Hopefully there's some kind of clue about Spinel at this place. If not…" Amethyst shrugged. "We always have my 'punch her until she cries' plan."

"Right…" Steven sighed. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He had hoped that the notebook would be the key to finally expose Spinel's plans, but instead it was just as Lapis had described. A simple list of locations and facilities that Homeworld had built on Earth. A useful list and one that needed to be handed over to the Gems when all this was over, but it wasn't that helpful in the current situation.

Connie seemed to see Steven's crestfallen look. "The timing between the two events was too coincidental. I'm sure once we go there and check it out, we'll find… something linking to Spinel."

She had a small, determined smile on, one that Steven then matched. "Yeah," he said nodding. "I'm sure we will too." He gave Connie and Amethyst a once over look before saying, "Are you ready?" They both nodded. "Okay," he said turning back towards the warp pad. "Let's go."

"Wait," Connie said. Steven turned back around and saw that she was holding her hand out. "Why don't we… let Stevonnie handle this?" she asked, her cheeks beginning to flush with awkward embarrassment. "I mean… That way, if there's anymore weird mind manipulation, then they'd be immune."

"That's a great idea, Connie," Steven said. "And I-..." he trailed off, glancing away.

"What? What's wrong, Steven?"

Steven shook his head. "Nothing. Just… nothing." He took Connie's hand into his own. "Are you ready?"

Connie nodded and the pair began to dance together, not unlike they did that sunset drenched evening on the beach. The only difference being that this dance was much shorter, Steven's gem starting to glow only a few seconds or so into their dance.

Steven closed his eyes, allowing the familiar sensation of fusion overtake him…

...and Stevonnie opened their's, a large grin plastered across their face as the sensation began to ebb away from their body.

"Hey, DT," Amethyst greeted.

"Hey, Amethyst," Stevonnie returned. They quickly checked over Rose's sword and scabbard, ensuring that it was still firmly strapped to their back. After, they looked back at Amethyst and asked simply, "Ready, Ame?"

"As much as I can be," Amethyst said as she began to walk towards the warp pad.

Stevonnie followed her, only to stop in their tracks as a quiet thought echoed in their mind.

" _After everything that's happened, it's… nice to know that you're still here, Connie."_

It was Steven's thought, the one that he had decided not to share. Stevonnie grinned broadly as they felt their face warm with the shared embarrassment over Steven's sweet thought for Connie.

"Was that your plan all along, Steven?" they said under their breath. "Let me relay that thought for you?"

"Yo! DT! Ya ready, or what?" Amethyst called from the warp pad.

"Yeah, I'm coming Amethyst," Stevonnie said looking over towards her. With one last internal grin, Stevonnie joined Amethyst on the warp pad and after a moment, the two were engulfed by a column of light and whisked away.

"Are you sure you're not staying around, Pearl?" Lapis asked as she walked with Pearl to the barn's entrance.

"I'm afraid so. As… interesting as the television show was, I want to see where Steven went." She folded her arms across her chest as she looked past the barn's open doors. "After that phone call, he left here in quite the hurry. I hope everything's okay with Connie…"

"If it wasn't, he'd tell us, wouldn't he?" Lapis asked, unsure of the answer herself.

"I would hope so. But he can sometimes act without thinking everything through." She let out a short chuckle. "He's been spending too much time with Amethyst."

Lapis smiled lightly back. "Maybe." She sighed softly. "Keep us informed, all right Pearl?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder at Spinel. She stood in front of the table, facing the the machine that still sat on it.

"I will," Pearl nodded. "And maybe you should try and talk to Spinel. After Steven left, she got very moody. She's probably worried about him too."

"Yeah. Probably," Lapis agreed. "I'll try and talk to her, but you know how that is. If she doesn't want to, she won't."

"True, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try," Pearl said, nodding again at Lapis. "I'll tell you when I know something."

"Okay. Good luck."

"You too." Pearl began to walk off in the direction of the warp pad. Lapis watched her for a moment before turning and joining Spinel at the the table.

"Hey, Spinel," Lapis said, as light and casually as she could. However, Spinel said nothing in return. So Lapis decided to try a different tactic. "How's the process going?"

"Better than expected," Spinel answered. "If the readings are accurate, then it should be done before the day is out."

"That's great news," Lapis said. "I didn't know things were going that well."

"Yeah. Peridot's a real genius." Lapis saw Spinel's eyes glance at the machine that held Peridot's Gem firmly in place. The large amount of energy that now coursed through it caused it to glow dimly.

"So Peridot will be reformed soon then?"

"Hopefully. Though, to be frank, once the storage cube is open, it doesn't really matter," Spinel shrugged.

"What… what do you mean, Spinel?"

"Don't worry about it. Listen…" Spinel laid a heavy hand on Lapis's shoulder. "I need you to do me a favor, Lapis…"

Stevonnie touched down on the smooth face of the warp pad, chilling the bottoms of their feet.

"Hey, Amethyst? Can you remind me to talk to Pearl or Mom or Dad… or Dad about getting a pair of shoes or something?"

"Bare feet ain't doing it for ya anymore?" Amethyst asked as she stepped off the warp pad.

"Not when I'm off the beach…" Stevonnie began to looking around, taking in their environment. It looked like the warp pad had taken them to the foothills of some mountain. They asked, "Is this site near the warp pad?"

"Yeah. It's not to far off," Amethyst answered. "Just a little over this way." Amethyst said, pointing down a vaguely defined path. "There's a cave a little ways down that ya can't miss."

"Alright," Stevonnie nodded. "I'll take the lead." They began walking down the path.

"Woah woah woah," Amethyst sputtered, quickly getting alongside Stevonnie. "Why are you in the lead? I'm the senior Crystal Gem."

"True, but I've got the shield, the bubble, and built immunity to mind altercations," They said with a smirk. "So I get to be in the lead."

"Ahh, _pfft_ …" Amethyst waved off. "Who made you leader?"

"Amethyst…"

"Fine, fine…" Amethyst shrugged. "Just know that if you get hit with like, super mind control? I'm gonna punch ya real hard."

Stevonnie laughed, "Well, good to know that you're keeping a rational head, Ame."

They continued to walk along the path, Stevonnie glancing around them trying to discern where they were. A breeze blew past them, prompting Stevonnie to try and pull Steven's star shirt down as far as possible.

"I should have brought my 'Universal Experience' shirt…" they mumbled to themselves.

"Wassat?" Amethyst asked.

"Nothing. Just making more mental notes," Stevonnie answered. "How much farther?"

"Not much. Should be just through here." Amethyst pointed to an outcropping of rocks. "Just past them."

The pair walked by the rocks and, hidden just out of view by them, was an opening in the side of the smooth mountain face. It was perfectly squared, each of the edges looking as if they had just been carved yesterday.

"Ah, yeah. This is G's work, alright."

Stevonnie was about to ask Amethyst what she meant, but the remnants of what had once been a door answered the question for them. The slab of metal was in two parts with both of their center edges looking like they had been melted and then torn apart.

"Garnet doesn't really mess around, does she?"

"Nope. When she's on a mission, ya can't slow her down," Amethyst answered.

Stevonnie walked closer to the door halves. They brushed some dust and debris off of one of the halves. There were two letters of the Gem Language written on either half in bold lettering.

"Well, we're in the right place, at least," Stevonnie said. They turned from the doors towards the entrance itself, past which was draped heavily in shadow.

 _What could be in there? Answers? Or…_

They gulped as they shook their head. There was only one way to find out.

"Seems kinda dark inside," Amethyst noted, sticking her head past the entrance. "Can ya light your gem, dude?"

"Yeah, I think so. Just let me…" Stevonnie closed their eyes and focused the energy in their gem. "Ah. There." They reopened their eyes to see a bright beam of light shooting down the hall, illuminating it.

"Awesome, dude," Amethyst said, landing a slightly-too-rough friendly slap on the small of their back. "After you."

"Right," Stevonnie replied as they rubbed the stinging spot. "Stay close, but stay behind me." They took their first tentative steps past the entranceway.

"Yeah, yeah. I know," Amethyst said in such a way that Stevonnie could hear her rolling her eyes.

The pair moved slowly down the hall, both trying to look in every direction at once. Both the floor and walls were made of some kind of metal that wasn't doing much to help their already chilled feet.

As they continued down the hall, every now and then, they would come across a shut door. There would be some lettering on it, but no handle or any other apparent way to open it. Amethyst would pull and push at it for a while, but every time it proved to be in vain.

"Geez, what's the point of putting doors that you can't open?" Amethyst asked as she struggled with her fourth immovable door.

"I don't know," Stevonnie sighed. "If Garnet went through here, she would have been able to get at least one of these doors open, right?"

"Probably." Amethyst gave the door one last push before sighing with frustration and letting up. "I mean, you saw the door out front. Garnet usually doesn't really care about subtlety."

"So… since these doors are still on their hinges, then that means that Garnet didn't open any of them?"

"I dunno, dude," Amethyst shrugged. "I know as much as you do."

Stevonnie said nothing in return. They only frowned at their bare, cold feet as they tried to wrack their mind on what they should do next.

 _We keep pushing forward, right? I mean, this is the only lead we have… But what if this lead doesn't go anywhere? What if this was just an unrelated mission Garnet went on but didn't get to finish before Spinel appeared? What if-_

Stevonnie caught something in the corner of their eye. They turned and looked down the hallway, the glow from their gem lighting up the area.

"What? Something up, DT?"

"I'm not sure," they answered. "I thought I… Wait, hold on…" Again they closed their eyes, focusing the energy within their gem. But this time, instead of light appearing, it disappeared, wrapping the two of them in darkness. Stevonnie then reopened their eyes and immediately saw what had grabbed their eye before.

"Is… that a light?" Amethyst asked as she leaned forward.

"Yeah, it is," Stevonnie nodded. In the distance down the hall, there was just the faintest amount of light peeking out in the distance. "I think we might have found where Garnet went when she was here…" They took a step towards the light, but then stopped. With ease, they raised their arm and summoned their shield to their side. It's soft glow illuminated a small area around them. "Alright," they said. "Let's go."

The two of them walked carefully down the hall, watching each of their steps. Stevonnie's eyes kept scanning the distance but, other than the distant light, they couldn't see much of anything. So they kept their gaze focused, towards the light. And slowly, the light grew larger and larger. Finally, they came upon an open doorway, through which dim light was shining through. Stevonnie stood at the side of the door, feeling extremely nervous at peeking inside the room.

"Okay," they said, trying their best to sound calm. "I'll go in first. Make sure there's nothing dangerous."

"Alright, dude. I got'cha back."

Stevonnie hesitated for just a moment before they forced their legs to move and carry them slowly to the doorway. They raised their shield in front of them and braced themselves as they got their first look into the room and…

"Well? See anything?"

"No. It's empty," Stevonnie said, dismissing their shield.

With their nerves beginning to settle a little, Stevonnie stepped into the room with Amethyst right behind them. The room was large and filled almost wall to wall with so many different machines and devices. Some were were unsettlingly familiar. Harsh, geometric shaped machines loomed on every side of the room, their dull lights silently fading in and out. Stevonnie felt their teeth clenched as they remembered what this reminded them of.

It looked just like the archival room that held the Pyramid.

"Geez, dude. Looks like a fight took place in here."

Getting a better look, Stevonnie had to agree. It looked like almost every machine was in some state of disrepair. And not from neglect, but from getting caught up in… someone's fury. Dents and craters were marked all over many of them. Stevonnie noted that they seemed to be about the size of a fist. They shook their head. "It doesn't look like a fight. It looks like someone just came in here and started breaking things."

"Ya thinking Spinel?"

"Maybe… But why would she just destroy all this?"

"I dunno. Why would she brainwash us?"

"Well, that's what we've come here to find out," Stevonnie said determinedly.

Amethyst nodded. "Right, dude. Plan?"

"Let's… split up, I guess. Search the room and see if we find anything."

"Got'cha." Amethyst nodded again. "I'll yell if I find anything." She turned and left Stevonnie to themself.

Stevonnie began to wander among a cluster of broken machines. Like so much else in the room, they looked like they had been purposefully destroyed. Stevonnie frowned at the wrecked machine, trying to look over them for clues, but coming away with nothing of note.

They moved away from the wrecks and came upon a set of flipped and overturned tables. Various electronic and mechanical parts were tossed around on the floor around them. Some of the parts looked like they had been taken a step forward and were thrown and shattered against a nearby wall. Stevonnie leaned down and began to shift through the parts but again, they came away with nothing helpful. Nothing, that is, until they glimpsed what at first looked like the tablet that Steven had given Peridot. But upon picking it up and examining it closer Stevonnie saw that…

 _No, this really does look just like Peridot's tablet._

The design was a little bit different, but for the most part it looked just like a regular tablet. Albeit, the screen was a little cracked.

"Hmm… I wonder if there's an 'on' button…"

As Stevonnie turned the device over in their hands looking for a way to power it on, they saw something sticking out of a nearby pile.

"What is…" they reached over and pulled what at first seemed like a strangely familiar rod. But once they had pulled it free from the pile, they saw why it had looked familiar. What had been poking out was in fact the handle of Gem Destabilizer Rod.

Stevonnie carefully placed the tablet back on the ground as they looked the rod over. It was two pronged, but it didn't have the pale orb suspended between them. Not only that, but the rods Steven had seen before had been a sort of brown, brass type of color. But this one was instead a dull grey. It was also a bit bigger, being quite a bit longer than the other rods.

"Maybe it's some kind of prototype?" Stevonnie asked themselves as they looked over the rod. "This _is_ a lab…"

"Hey! Stevonnie! Over here! Quick!"

Amethyst's voice quickly brought Stevonnie out of their musing. They laid the rod back down on the pile and made their way towards where Amethyst's voice had come from. They moved passed and around several machines of varying sizes, all looking like they had seen better days. When finally Amethyst was in view, Stevonnie could see that she was standing next to a large cylinder container of some sort. In it was some sort of pale pink liquid floating within that was-

Stevonnie gasped at the realization.

"Yeah. Call me crazy, but I think I may have just found someone important," Amethyst said glancing again at the cylinder.

They didn't say anything in return. Their entire attention was focused on the cylinder's contents. Floating within the pink liquid were two perfectly round gems, one red and one blue.

"Ruby! Sapphire!" Stevonnie gasped. They looked over at Amethyst, who seemed surprisingly composed in comparison to themself. "We need to get them out of there." Stevonnie turned to a nearby console, but dismayed when they saw that it, like most everything else in the room, had been smashed beyond repair.

"Hang on, dude. I got this." Before Stevonnie could ask Amethyst what she meant, the gem reared her arm back and then sharply elbowed the glass cylinder. The glass shattered, leaving a large hole that the liquid now poured out of. Luckily though, Stevonnie was able to catch Ruby and Sapphire's gems before they hit the ground.

Stevonnie looked at the two gems in their hands and started to ask Amethyst if they'd be able to reform, but before they could both gems began to glow with an inner light. Realizing what was happening, Stevonnie held both gems out and away from themselves. The gem's glow intensified and after a few moments, they floated a few inches above Stevonnie's hands before their glow began to extend beyond the gem itself and then form the familiar shape of the two gems.

The gems began to gently drift back down to the ground as the light began to recede and reveal two forms, one lithe and elegant, draped in a dress that dragged against the ground and the other was thick and solid, a distinct headband wrapped around their head.

The light then completely disappeared, leaving Ruby and Sapphire standing with their backs to Stevonnie and Amethyst.

"Sapphire!" Ruby cried, quickly grabbing the hand that held Sapphire's gem. "Are you alright?" Ruby scanned her gem closely, running her fingers over it's every facet.

Sapphire put her hand on Ruby's and squeezed. "I'm fine, Ruby. Are you?"

"Of course," Ruby replied. "It'll take more than that to scratch the mightiest ruby who popped out of the ground."

Sapphire chuckled softly. "I would hope so. Otherwise, I may have pinned myself to the wrong one, then."

"Ruby? Sapphire?"

The sound of Stevonnie's voice caused both Gems to jump slightly, as they realized that they weren't alone. They slowly turned around, Ruby's eyes growing large as two saucers. Sapphire brushed her bangs away from her eye.

"Stevonnie… Amethyst…" she said softly as her hair fell back into place. "Where's Pearl?"

Stevonnie and Amethyst exchanged sideways looks before Stevonnie slowly answered, "Last Steven saw, she was at the barn."

Silence held for a second before Ruby asked simply:

"Where is Spinel?"

Stevonnie told the majority of the story, Amethyst only piping in to tell about her and Peridot's first encounter with Spinel, as well as add some details about when she and Connie looked over the notebook. Ruby and Sapphire said nothing during the explanation. They only nodded along and exchanged the occasional glance towards each other.

"-and after that, we came straight here and… well, found you," Stevonnie said, finishing up the tale. "When we left, the storage cube hadn't been opened yet. Though…" They closed their eyes. "I can't remember how long Peridot estimated it would take to open." They reopened their eyes only to cast their gaze to the side. "That was only this morning, but it already feels like… a lot longer…" Stevonnie felt a hand wrap gently around their wrist. They looked back over and saw Sapphire next to them.

"You've done spectacularly already." She spoke with a soft edge to her voice.

"Yeah. Without what you guys have done, Sapphire and I would still be trapped in that goo," Ruby said.

"Heh, well don't give me too much of the praise," Amethyst shrugged. "Most of this was Steven and Connie."

"You've _all_ done spectacularly," Sapphire said again. "You've acted as a team, facing a trial. I would not wish on anyone."

"Sapphire's right," Ruby nodded. "I mean… since we kinda dropped the ball…"

"What do you mean?" Stevonnie asked.

Sapphire and Ruby looked at one another before Sapphire said simply, "I think it would be best if Garnet explained."

"Yeah, probably," Ruby agreed.

They both walked over to each other. Ruby grabbed Sapphire's hand and they both leaned in close to one another, their foreheads resting on each other. Both of their forms were engulfed by by a bright light before they melded together, forming a larger whole. The glow once again receded, revealing a figure that was only slightly taller than Stevonnie themself. Like Ruby and Sapphire, her back was facing them, but before she turned she quickly waved her hand in front of her face, a trail of sparkles following her hand.

She turned, and Stevonnie instantly found themselves overwhelmed.

"G-Garnet…" Stevonnie barely gasped out. They took and unsteady step towards her, before collapsing into her arms.

"It's alright," Garnet soothed. "I'm okay."

"I-... I know, but when no one else-... Steven was so worried… _I_ … was so worried…"

"I know. But you have done well." She gently pull Stevonnie away from herself. A small smile broke across her face. "You've used your strength, what Steven and Connie have themselves, as well as what they draw from one another, to come this far." Her smile grew wider. "I am extremely proud of you."

"Wow…" Stevonnie said quietly. "I… thank you, Garnet."

"No thanks is needed," Garnet replied. Her proud smile grew to a playful smirk as she looked over at Amethyst. "Ah, and hello, Amethyst."

"Hey, G," Amethyst replied casually. "Glad ya back."

"Likewise." She held her arms open at Amethyst.

"What are you doing, dude?"

"Waiting for your hug, of course," Garnet said with a playful smirk.

"Ehh… I'll save mine for when we've stopped Spinel," Amethyst replied.

"Right. Spinel," Stevonnie said. They paused for a moment, trying to decided how best to say this, before finally saying simply, "Why did you come here, Garnet?"

"For a mission," Garnet replied simply. "I discovered this lab's location a few weeks back from the information Peridot had pieced together from the database in the archive room. The one that held the pyramid."

Stevonnie nodded.

"After several… unsuccessful attempts to get in, I opted for a more direct approach. Ruby and Sapphire rapidly heated and cooled the door and then I tore it down."

"Yeah. We saw your handiwork on the way in," Amethyst said.

Garnet continued, "I explored the hall, but the only open door was at the very end."

"This one?" Stevonnie asked.

"No. This was further down than where we are now. It was the room that held the generator for the entire facility. I was able to jump start it, but as soon as I did, I heard some kind of crashing or explosion coming from down the hall. I ran into this room and at first saw nothing, but then this… strange Gem I didn't recognize jumped me."

"Spinel," Stevonnie said solemnly.

Garnet nodded. "I summoned my gauntlets to try and fight her off, but she used this… odd looking Disruptor Rod on me."

"Odd like, it's longer than the others we've seen and it's strangely colored?" Stevonnie asked.

"Yes. But this wasn't a melee weapon. It shot out some sort of beam. I wasn't expecting it and it caught me off guard. And the rods effects were same as the others we've seen. It diffused me and then poofed Ruby and Sapphire." She crossed her arms across her chest. "And then the next thing I know, I'm getting rescued by you and Amethyst."

"Hmpf," Amethyst snorted. "Sounds pretty familiar. Spinel getting the jump on ya before you even know what's up."

"Yeah," Stevonnie nodded. "Is that all the happened, Garnet?"

"The important parts."

"I see…" they sighed as they shook their head. "So you don't know what Spinel wants?"

"No, I'm afraid not, Stevonnie," Garnet replied.

"Great…" they murmured as they clamped their eyes shut. "I mean, don't get me wrong, Garnet. I'm really glad that we found you, but we still don't know what-..." Stevonnie's eyes shot open as they suddenly remembered something.

"Uh, DT? What's up?"

Stevonnie didn't answer, only quickly turning around, before breaking into a run. In just a short while, they were back to the group of overturned desks and pile of objects. They began to quickly scan over the area, trying to find what they had sat down.

 _Come on, come on… it has to be- Yes! There it is!_

Their gaze stopped on top of the tablet that was still laying right where they had left it, next to the Disruptor Rod. Stevonnie bent over and plucked both of them from the pile.

"Stevonnie!"

They heard Garnet call from behind. They turned and saw that both Amethyst and Garnet jogging over towards them.

"Stevonnie," Garnet said again as she approached. She glanced at what they were holding. "You found something."

Stevonnie nodded. "Yeah. I was looking at this before Amethyst found your gems." They held out the rod. "Also, is this what Spinel attacked you with?"

Garnet took the rod from Stevonnie and looked it over briefly before nodding, "Yes, this is it." She then took one end of the rod in either hand and deftly snapped it in two, as if it were just a twig. "Whoops. My hand slipped."

"Geez, Garnet. Holding much of a grudge?" Amethyst asked.

"Of course not. I told you, my hand slipped." She looked down at the pieces of the rod at her feet. "Besides, one less of those things in the world, the better."

"Yesh, I suppose so," Stevonnie agreed. "But what I was really looking at was this." They indicated towards the tablet. "But I couldn't find a way to turn it on…" Garnet lifted the device out of their hand and, after holding on to it for only a moment, it's screen sprang to life with several lines of Gem language characters scrolling across it.

"There we go," Garnet said simply.

"How'd you do that?" Stevonnie asked.

"Gem technology," Garnet answered simply. "It's designed to react to the subtle energy given off of a Gem's projection."

"Oh… So that's why I couldn't turn it on." Stevonnie looked down at their hand. They then turned to look at the tablet. "Does it say anything useful?"

"Hmm… Most of the entries are corrupted," Garnet said as she flicked her finger across the screen. "Whatever cracked the screen must have also damaged its memory banks."

"Yeah, when Spinel tossed it or whatever," Amethyst said.

Stevonnie nodded. "But why would she damage all this equipment though?"

Garnet said nothing, only continuing to go through the device, her finger tapping the screen to go from entry to entry. Stevonnie had started going through the rest of the bits in the pile, when finally Garnet said, "Okay, I found something."

Stevonnie quickly returned to Garnet's side and looked at the screen, though it was still filled with unintelligible characters. "What does it say, Garnet?"

"Well… apparently this was a lab that was used before the Rebellion," Garnet began. "The scientists here were studying corruption."

"Ya mean like, the corruption that happens to gems?" Amethyst asked as she leaned over to try and get a better look at the tablet.

"It seems so," Garnet answered. "The lab was abandoned when the Rebellion was drawing to close." She tapped the screen, bringing up a new list of characters. "They were planning on evacuating… hmm… more broken entries." Garnet flicked her finger across the screen, quickly going through more entries.

"Well?" Stevonnie asked expectantly.

Garnet slowly shook her head. "There's not much more left. Just some scattered references to a storage cube…"

"Well… That kinda answers a question, I guess," Amethyst shrugged. "The cube at the barn must'a come from here."

"I was thinking the same thing," Stevonnie said. "But what's in it…" They sighed. "Anything else, Garnet?"

"Just references to an 'Experiment 626'."

"Experiment 626?" Stevonnie repeated. "What's that?"

"I'm not sure. It seems like it was the main experiment for this lab, but… there aren't many details listed."

"Experiment 626… What could…" Stevonnie trailed off as they desperately tried to piece together what information they had. They scrunched their eyes shut as they went over all the details.

 _A lab, evacuation, the cube, 626… Wait-!_

"That's it!" Stevonnie cried as inspiration struck them.

"What's it, dude?"

"The cube and the experiment," Stevonnie said, trying not to trip over their words. "You said that they tried to evacuate… something, right Garnet?"

"Yes."

"It was the cube. Because inside is Experiment 626."

"How do ya figure?" Amethyst asked.

"Because that's why Spinel was sent here. To retrieve it," Stevonnie explained. "That's why she came to this lab, to get the cube."

"Huh… Yeah, that kinda makes sense," Amethyst said. "But then why is she trying to open it here? Why not wait until she's back on Homeworld?"

"I don't think that matters," Garnet cut in. "Regardless of her reasons, Spinel is a threat. To us and the entire planet."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Stevonnie conceded. "But I still want to know _why_ she's doing all this."

"Eh, you'll have a chance when I've got her pinned to the ground," Amethyst said.

"Yeah…" Stevonnie sighed. "It has to do with Experiment 626 somehow, though. Why else would she come to this lab?"

"We'll find out soon, I think," Garnet said. "Are we ready to head back?"

Stevonnie nodded. "But before we confront Spinel, we should try and get Pearl. One of us needs to fuse with her." A small smile spread on their face. "Then we'll be back together. The Crystal Gems, reformed."

Garnet matched their smile. "That we will. Let's move out." Garnet began walking towards the exit, Amethyst following behind her. Stevonnie came next and, as they were exiting the room, they cast one last look behind them, at the destroyed and trashed room behind them.

"It's almost over Spinel…" They whispered quietly under their breath. "And this time… I'm not alone."

They turned and followed their two teammates back through the hallway that led outside.


	8. The Final Confrontation

**Serious Content Warning**. I can't really say what for without spoilers, so if you want to know the warning in full, check the notes at the end. Otherwise, enjoy...

* * *

They moved quickly across the beach, their hurried footsteps kicking up sand as they did. They had been running ever since they teleported back to the warp pad near the barn. Amethyst had wanted to warp directly to the temple, but both Stevonnie and Garnet had suggested otherwise. If Spinel was at the temple when the four of them warped in, things could get complicated fast.

Stevonnie wheezed as the temple came into view.

"Almost there…" they said to themself.

Nothing looked amiss, at least from the outside. Same temple, same house, same wooden stairs and porch.

 _If Spinel's here, we'll need to draw her out. A fight could get out of hand inside._

"Spinel won't be here."

Stevonnie craned their head to look at Garnet. "She's not?"

Garnet shook her head. "There is someone at the temple, though."

"Who?"

Garnet didn't say anything in response, instead she merely pointed ahead. Stevonnie turned and looked. They were just about to trip over the first step leading to the beach house. They quickly skidded to a stop, Garnet and Amethyst doing the same.

"You two go on in," Garnet said.

"Ya not coming?" Amethyst asked, cocking her head to the side.

"In a moment. You go in and get things ready."

"Garnet, you're not making any sense," Stevonnie said. "Who's in the house?"

Garnet was silent for a few seconds before answering simply, "I believe Pearl is in there."

"Really? No Spinel?"

"I don't think so."

"So…" Amethyst began, "why don't you wanna come in with us?"

"Because right now, the last memory Pearl has of me is watching me be shattered." Garnet looked down at the palms of her hands, her gems shining in the low hung sun. "If I simply went in there as is, things could become… unpredictable." She raised her gaze back up to Stevonnie and Amethyst. "That's why you need to prepare her."

"Prepare her?" Stevonnie asked. "Prepare her… how, exactly?"

"By being genuine and understanding, but also firm in leading her to truth," Garnet responded.

"That's pretty vague advice," Stevonnie said.

"So pretty much what ya get when you ask G-Squad for advice," Amethyst rolled her eyes.

"Just be yourself," Garnet said more firmly, putting both her hands on Stevonnie's shoulders. "I'll be listening and I'll pick the best time to come in."

"Right…" Stevonnie said slowly. "Okay." They looked over at Amethyst, "You ready?"

"Dude, I haven't been ready since I woke up on the beach," she said shrugging, before smirking at them. "Hasn't stopped me so far."

Stevonnie smiled back, nodding as they said, "Yeah, I know what you mean." They turned back to the stairs and with a deep breath, began walking up towards the beach house, Amethyst following behind them. The wooden planks of the porch seemed ten times louder than usual as they squeaked underneath their steps.

With another deep breath, Stevonnie pulled open the door and entered the house.

"There you are. I was just about to call the Maheswarans."

Stevonnie had barely stepped into the house when they Pearl's voice coming from over the kitchen. And indeed, that was the direction Pearl now walked from.

"I assumed you had fused. I saw Steven and Connie's shoes, in the middle of the floor." She indicated next to the coffee table. A pair of sneakers and a pair of flipflops sat next to the table.

"Ah, yeah," Stevonnie replied. They tried their best to sound light and casual, despite the heavy tightness in the pit of their stomach. "I need to talk to someone about getting a pair of shoes that fits me. Not that I'm really sure why I'm bothering to tell you this now…"

"Hm? What was that, Stevonnie?"

"Ah, nothing, Pearl!" they said hastily. "Just, uh mumbling to myself."

"Right…" Pearl said. "Are you… alright, Stevonnie?"

"W-why wouldn't I be, Pearl?"

"Well, first Amethyst disappears after having some sort of talk with Steven and then Steven just walks away from the barn without telling us anything." She crossed her arms across her chest. "What going on? Is this something Spinel put you up to?"

"Sorta, I guess," Amethyst answered.

Pearl sighed. "This is another one of your pranks, isn't it?" She shook her head. "And I was letting myself get so worked up…"

"No, Pearl. This… This isn't a prank," Stevonnie said.

"Oh? Then what's going on?"

Stevonnie looked over at Amethyst, who merely shrugged. "Don't look at me. I'm following your lead, DT."

They sighed. "Right." They walked over to Pearl, trying their best to straighten out what they were going to say. "Okay, what Amethyst and I are going to tell you right now… It'll be hard to believe, impossible even. But it is true. All of it. And… I'm just really hoping that you'll believe me."

"Stevonnie," Pearl said as she gently laid a hand on their arm. "You know you can tell me anything. We all care about you. Isn't that right, Amethyst?"

Before Amethyst could respond however, Stevonnie cut back in. "This isn't about me or Steven or Amethyst. It's about… well, Spinel."

Pearl expression shifted to one of worry and concern. "Spinel? She's… she's alright, isn't she?" Her brow furrowed in contemplation. "When I left the barn she did seem rather distant. I thought it was about Steven, but-"

"No, Pearl," Stevonnie interrupted. "It's not-..." They sighed heavily. "I guess I should just say it." They looked at Pearl directly, her confused and worried expression contrasting against the determination that they felt. "Your memories. The ones about Spinel. They're wrong."

The words seemed to slip out of their mouth and land dully between them. Pearl didn't say anything at first, though her completely bewildered expression did plenty of talking itself.

"I know what you must be thinking," Stevonnie said. "But it's true. Spinel has the ability to alter memories and she's done it… a lot. To you, Amethyst, Steven, Connie… and others."

"Uhh…"

"It's true, P," Amethyst said, striding to Stevonnie's side. "Steven was able to break me out of it. And now, we're here to do the same to you."

Pearl shook her head. "Stars… I thought you said this _wasn't_ one of your pranks…"

"It's not, Pearl! _Ugh!_ " Amethyst sighed. "Look, I know it's hard to believe. Steven told me I was the same way when he told me. But it's true. Spinel's been mixing up our memories, inserting herself in places she doesn't belong. Luckily, there's an easy way to prove we're right."

"A way to prove that Spinel, a person I've known since before leaving Homeworld, has been lying to me for over five millennia?"

"Yea." Amethyst held out her hand. "Let's call Opal out here and see what she has to say."

"Opal? There are no opals on Earth," Pearl said.

"No, not _an_ opal. _The_ Opal." She grabbed onto Pearl's hand. "Let's mash it up, dude. We fuse, and that proves everything."

Pearl looked aghast at Amethyst's suggestion. "F-fusion?!" she sputtered. "Amethyst!"

"What?"

"You know what Rose said about fusion!" She looked away from them, color beginning to creep into her cheeks. "Once the war was over, no more fusing."

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Gee… Another memory that prevents us from proving anything…"

Pearl shot her a sharpened look. "After what happened to Garnet, it was the right thing to do."

Stevonnie had to stop themself from looking over their shoulder, out the window. "Because you think she was shattered?"

Pearl directed a sharp gaze at them. "Because I _saw_ her get shattered."

"Yea, but you didn't," Amethyst responded. "Spinel only made ya think you did. Garnet's alright. Or, least she is now."

Pearl grimaced as she placed a hand on her hip. "Stevonnie, Amethyst. I don't know what kind of prank you're trying to pull, but it's gone on long enough!"

"Pearl, please…" Stevonnie said. "You have to believe us. Or at least trust us enough that we wouldn't be doing this to hurt you."

" _Hmph_. Last time Amethyst said that, I had to dismiss my projection in order to unglue my hand from counter."

Amethyst chuckled lightly at the thought. "Oh yeah, that was a good one…" Stevonnie shot her a look and she instantly straightened up. "But that was then. This is now. We're telling the truth this time."

"I think you said that last time, as well…"

"Ah, come on, Pearl!" Amethyst shot back. "Ya don't trust me? Fine. But what about Stevonnie? They're the fusion of the two most honest people we know!"

Before Pearl could answer, a thought entered Stevonnie's head.

"Wait, Pearl… Rose said no more fusions after the war, right?"

Pearl nodded. "Yes. After what happened to Garnet, she felt that it was the most respectful thing to do… And I agreed."

"Then… do you have a problem with me?" Stevonnie asked.

Pearl seemed to be physically struck with their question. "A problem with… No, of course not. Why would I?"

"Because I'm a fusion."

Pearl's expression twitched at their simple statement. "Y-yes, I know that but…" She turned away from the two of them. "Why am I okay with that? I never would have let you fuse… But I'm alright with you…"

"Spinel's work hasn't been as thorough as we thought," Stevonnie said.

" _Hehe_ , yeah not so much," Amethyst chuckled along. "That enough proof for ya, P?"

"N-no. There has to be some sort of explanation…"

"There is. Spinel's been messing with us," Amethyst responded. "But she didn't cover her tracks well enough."

"She either forgot or just didn't know about me at all," Stevonnie said. "And don't try to rationalize this, Pearl. Such a huge contradiction in your memories. There's no explaining it away."

"That's why we gotta fuse, dude," Amethyst said. "Fusing undoes all of Spinel's weirdness." She held out her hand again. "So just fuse with me, and everything will… well, I mean it won't make sense, but you'll be on the right track."

Pearl hesitated, looking at Amethyst open palm before quickly shaking her head. "No, let's bring Spinel here. Maybe she knows more about what's going on."

"She does, that's kind of the problem…" Stevonnie mumbled. They sighed. Amethyst had been a lot easier to convince to fuse, than Pearl was being. Why did she have to be so stubborn? "Pearl, please… If you don't feel comfortable fusing with Amethyst, then what about with me? Or Steven?"

"No! Of course, not! What would Rose say?"

"Probably nothing, cause Rose never said anything bad 'bout fusion before!" Amethyst yelled.

Stevonnie gritted their teeth, but before they could say anything, they heard the turning of the doorknob behind them.

"Spinel, good you're here. We're having a-" Pearl voice caught suddenly as she saw who was standing in the doorway.

Stevonnie turned and saw Garnet walking towards them, but… she did not look like her ordinary self. Her uniform of carefully measured shades of purple and red were replaced with splotches of bright red and blue. Her shades were also gone, revealing all three of her eyes and her normally dark, symmetrical hair was now messy, its coloration being similar to the rest of her.

For a moment, Stevonnie wondered if this _was_ Garnet, but simply looking into her eyes assured them of that. Despite the rest of her appearance, her eyes still held the same light that Stevonnie remembered.

Garnet walked past them, past Amethyst, and stopped in front of Pearl. She paused a moment, before a bright smile appeared on her lips.

"Hello, Pearl. You remember me, of course."

"I-I-... You-you're Garnet…" The words came forced out, as if it were taking all of Pearl's strength not collapse. "How…? I saw you get… get shattered…"

"At the Noble's Court," Garnet said gently.

"The ruby… she pushed the sapphire out of the way and… they fused. So easily. It was the first time I had ever seen fusion like that."

"It was, but it wasn't your last. You and Rose found me much later. And you remember… you remember the excitement Rose had. The joy she felt when she saw this brand new experience."

"I… I…"

Garnet's smile wavered before disappearing. "What Stevonnie and Amethyst have told you is the truth. Spinel has been altering our memories, inserting herself while removing me. But you remember the truth, Pearl. How we fought against Homeworld. Defended the Earth."

Pearl's mouth trembled as she slowly responded. "No… I don't, but… I want to. That feels right."

Garnet took Pearl's hand into her own. Without her shades, Stevonnie saw all three of Garnet's eyes were looking directly at Pearl.

"Spinel can't erase such deep seeded memories and connections." She tightened her hold. "We have this bond. That's been forged over millennia."

Pearl's face flushed with color. "I…"

"It's okay, Pearl," Stevonnie said. "We're all friends… Family… We won't do anything to hurt you."

"Yeah, P," Amethyst said. "I know I like to joke and mess with ya, but this is serious." She folded her arms. "You know I'd never do anything to hurt ya."

"Please, Pearl," Garnet said, gently laying a hand on Pearl's cheek. "Trust us… Trust _me_ …"

Pearl didn't say anything. Her eyes kept jumping from Garnet, to Stevonnie, to Amethyst and back. Her mouth kept moving and trembling, like she wanted to speak, but no words came out. But finally, in silent response, she placed her hand over Garnet's and squeezed. She nodded softly as she pressed her forehead against Garnet.

"Thank you, Pearl…"

They held there for a moment, before light began emitting from from their gems, from Pearl's forehead and from Garnet's palms. The light grew in intensity until it engulfed them, and then it grew even more. The light began to press oppressively against Stevonnie and Amethyst, until they heard a familiar laugh echo throughout the house.

"Ohohohoho!"

The light began to recede and a voice announced her presence.

"Gems and Fusions, It is I, the amazingly lovely and lovely amazing Sardonyx! Back on the stage!"

A pair of hands shot out of the light and with swift gesture, seemed to toss the light aside as if it were a curtain.

With the fusion glow gone, Stevonnie could now see her properly.

"Sardonyx… You're back!" they said.

"Of course, dear. Though, hindsight being what it is, I suppose we should have done this outside."

She had a point.

Sardonyx was a huge fusion and, while the beach house was by no means small, she did have to practically sit down in order to not hit her head on the ceiling. Or, more precisely, to keep from bursting out of the roof.

"Ah, but where are my manners?" Sardonyx held out one of her fingers. "Sardonyx: master of stagecraft, fusion of Garnet and Pearl, and Crystal Gem, at your service."

It took Stevonnie a moment to realize what Sardonyx was doing, but when it struck them, they grabbed her outstretched finger and shook it. A facsimile of a handshake.

"It's good to finally meet you, Sardonyx," Stevonnie said.

"Likewise, dear." She flashed her bright smile. "And it's of course always good to see you, Amethyst."

"Sup, Sard?" Amethyst greeted. "Long time no see."

"Quite, but you know how it is," Sardonyx said shrugging. "A malevolent Gem comes and brainwashes your entire family. It just ruins your whole day, you know?"

"Yeah, right," Stevonnie nodded. "And once you diffuse, we get to go over all of it with Pearl."

"Ah, dear. You don't have to worry. Garnet's taking care of that for you," Sardonyx said as she put a finger to her temple. "Fusions can share memories, remember?"

"Oh, right," Stevonnie said. "Hmm… Using the memory transfer to catch someone up on recent events. That's pretty smart, Sardonyx."

"Ah, dear. You're going to make me blush," Sardonyx said, covering her mouth. "To be honest, this really is a terrible situation we've been penned in." She made a flourish with her hand. "It has us all not thinking clearly."

"Uh, don't you mean 'pinned'?"

She tapped her lower lip. "Hm. I suppose that works as well, yes. But, anyway!" She clapped all four of her hands together. "I suppose it's time I bid you ado and allow Pearl and Garnet to retake the stage. Amethyst, Stevonnie. I cannot wait until we meet again."

Stevonnie smiled. "Me neither, Sardonyx."

"Yeah, see ya Sard."

Sardonyx bowed, or at least did as much as the cramped space would allow, before light began emitting from gem. It engulfed her, then shrank until it revealed two figures. Both were still very close to each other and were still holding each other's hands.

Pearl looked up Garnet, her eyes wide with wonder, as if this was the first she had seen of her in a long time.

"Garnet. I forgot you…" Pearl said softly. "But I don't remember… not remembering you."

Garnet grinned. "That's alright." She took Pearl's hand and held it against her own cheek. "You're back now. That's what matters."

Pearl's face flushed once again, but any attempt on her part to respond was cut off.

"Pearl!"

Stevonnie threw themselves at her, wrapping her in the tightest hug they could manage.

"Stevonnie, Amethyst," she breathed. "I-... You're safe and-..." She pushed away from the hug, placing her hand against her gem. "I'm sorry. I'm still trying to make sense of the memories Garnet shared with me… It's a lot to take in."

"Yeah, you're telling me," Amethyst said. "Least you had Garnet fusing with you. Fusing with Steven was kind of a trip." She playfully elbowed Stevonnie in the side.

Stevonnie chuckled. "Yeah, well at least Steven got you to fuse. At first you were all, 'I dunno. What would Pearl say'?"

"Amethyst concerned with what I think?" Pearl raised an eyebrow. "Now I know she was brainwashed."

" _Pfft_. Whatever, P. Ya remember that next time you're under some else's control."

Pearl opened her mouth to respond, but Garnet laid a hand on both of their shoulders. "Easy, now," she said firmly. "We just all got back together. No need to be starting fights now."

"Hm. Yes, I… I suppose that's right. This is the first time we've all been together and in our right heads in almost a week," Pearl said. "Thank you, all three of you."

"Eh, like I told Rub and Saph. It was mostly Steven and Connie's work," Amethyst shrugged.

Stevonnie could feel color rising in their face as they felt Garnet's hand on their shoulder.

"It was a team effort," Garnet said. "but they undoubtedly deserve a large amount of the credit."

Stevonnie smiled modestly. "I… I mean…"

"Considering what Garnet's shared with me, I agree," Pearl said nodding. "I say this not only as a friend, Stevonnie, but as a teacher. I am _extremely_ proud of you."

"I… Pearl, that…" Stevonnie found it almost impossible to speak, so overwhelmed they were from the Gems' compliments. "Thank you…"

"Yeeeaah. Not that I'm disagreeing with any of what you guys are saying or anything, but don't we still have some work left to do?" Amethyst asked.

Stevonnie nodded, mentally shifting the gears in their head. "Right. Spinel. And Peridot and Lapis."

"Hmmm… Peridot's gem is being used to power some device, right?" Pearl asked, resting her chin in her hand.

"Right. To open a storage cube," Stevonnie answered.

"Do we know what's inside?"

"Nope. Not at all," Amethyst said.

"And that's… troubling," Garnet added.

"Yeah. But before we confront Spinel, we need to free Peridot and Lapis," Stevonnie said. "Otherwise, they could be used against us."

"Alright… I could probably get Peri to fuse with me again," Amethyst said. "But what about Lapis? I doubt she's in a hurry to fuse."

"Fusion… might not be necessary to undo Spinel's powers," Garnet said slowly. "I have a theory. When two Gems fuse, the energy output of the Gems is temporarily increased. I believe that the energy increase is what undoes Spinel's influence."

"Hmm… Interesting," Pearl pondered. "What are you basing this on, Garnet?"

She shrugged. "It's the only explanation that makes sense. Spinel's powers are fueled by the energy from her gem, so a surge of energy could override it. Possibly…"

"I think ya might be onto something, G-Squad," Amethyst said. "When Spinel had me restrained, just before she took me to town, she asked me to 'restrict the energy output of my gem' or something."

"Hm. Well if an energy surge is what's needed, then there are other ways. Such as a Gem reforming their physical form."

"Like, after they've been poofed?" Stevonnie asked hesitantly.

"Yes. Exactly," Garnet answered.

"Well… if that's the case, then Peridot's taken care of," Pearl said. "Her memories should be back to normal as soon as she reforms from the machine. But Lapis…"

"No, we can't," Stevonnie quickly said. "Lapis is our friend. We can't just… poof her."

"We might not have a choice," Garnet said. "We need to remove as many pieces as possible before we confront Spinel."

"Lapis isn't a 'piece'," they shot back. "Lapis is one of us."

"No one's saying she's not, dude," Amethyst said. "But… well, you remember how she creamed me, right? Lapis's move set is just completely beyond any of ours."

"Yeah, but-" they sighed. "Fine. But before that, let me talk to her. If I can convince her to fuse, I want to."

"Of course, Stevonnie," Garnet said. "After all, it's just a theory. We might have to rely on fusion anyway…"

"I don't know, Garnet. I find your theory fairly compelling."

The voice was instantly recognizable. It sent an unnatural chill down Stevonnie's spine. They, along with the rest of the Gems, turned towards the screen door and saw her unmistakable grin on the other side.

"You may find it surprising," Spinel laughed as she opened and stepped through the door. "but I don't really know all the ins and outs of my powers yet." She flexed her fingers, her gem visible in the setting sunlight. "I haven't really had much of a chance to try them out."

"Spinel…" Stevonnie breathed. "Where's Lapis and Peridot?"

Spinel shrugged extravagantly. "Where I left them, if I had to guess."

Stevonnie stepped forward, but Garnet's firm hand stopped them.

"Surrender, Spinel," she said simply.

"And why would I do that? I've almost got what I want."

" _Hmph_. Ya may have sucker punched me last time, but I know your game now ," Amethyst said. "And I got backup this time."

"That you do, but my intention was never to fight you. You were all just… unfortunately needed tools."

"That's all you see us as. Tools, fit to be disposed of when you're done?" Pearl intoned.

"Who said anything about disposal?" Spinel crossed her arms. "When this was over, _I_ was going to be the one to disappear."

"With the contents of the cube," Stevonnie said. "With Experiment 626."

For the first time since Stevonnie had met her, Spinel looked truly taken aback. Her gaze moved repeatedly all over them. "Experiment- How do you know about that?"

"For the same reason we're all standing here," Stevonnie replied, smirking back at Spinel. "You haven't been as thorough as you believed."

"Yes… I'll admit it. When I was gathering information out of all of you, it never occurred to me to ask if Steven and Connie had fused." She looked away. "A human fusing… The idea is insane. But I suppose I should expect no less from the planet that shattered a Diamond."

"W-what?"

Spinel's expression seemed to soften at Stevonnie's stuttered question. "Ahh… It seems the Crystal Gems haven't been completely truthful with you.." Her flicked upwards, towards Garnet. "I suggest you start getting your own answers when this is over. But for now, I'm done stalling you."

"Stalling for what?" Stevonnie asked.

Spinel shrugged her shoulders. "The device to finish, of course. It should be done by now. And then I'm leaving."

"You won't be able to get away. Even if you run now, we'll catch you before you get to the barn," Pearl pointed out.

"True. But then, I brought backup as well," Spinel smirked. "If all goes well, we won't see each other again. But I just want you to remember, as you're being carried out to sea," She pointed at Garnet. "Remember that this is your fault! I'm not dangerous! I'M JUST A SPINEL!"

And with just a beat after her declaration, Spinel spun and ran out the door.

"After her!" Garnet called.

But Stevonnie was already on the move, pushing past the screen door and emerging on the porch. They scanned the beach below and saw Spinel running in the direction of the barn.

"You're not getting away this time," Stevonnie said under their breath. They took a few steps back before charging forward and leaping off the porch, towards Spinel.

But before they were even close, they were stopped.

Stevonnie saw a split second view of seafoam green, before they were struck with the force of a speeding truck. The impact sent them falling back to the beach, landing hard enough that the wind was knocked out of their lungs. As they struggled back to their feet, they realized that they were wet, but they didn't figure out who their attacker was until they rose in the air before them.

"No… Lapis, please…"

Lapis made no indication that she heard. She only raised her hand, summoning another mass of water to launch at them.

"Ah, no! Not again!"

Before she could send another torrent their way, Amethyst leaped from the porch and flung herself at Lapis. She collided with her hard enough to cause Lapis to lose her grip on the water.

Amethyst landed and began to retreat towards Stevonnie, but Pearl leapt down beside them first, firing laser shots from her spear at Lapis.

To protect herself, Lapis summoned more of the ocean to her side, creating a watery veil to block the shots.

"Are you okay, Stevonnie?" Garnet asked, landing with a dull thud next to them.

"Yeah… Just had the wind knocked out of me." They looked over at Pearl. "Can you keep those shots up while-"

"Urgh! Enough!"

Lapis's yell cut them off. They looked at her and saw her watery cover fall and splash on the sand beneath her. She pushed away from them and began to gather water over her head in an imperfect orb.

"She's prepping the big one!" Amethyst exclaimed.

With barely a thought, Stevonnie jumped to their feet. "Everyone! Behind me!"

Lapis sent her torrent of sea water towards them, but mere moments from impact, Stevonnie summoned their shield and then quickly caused it to expand several times its own size, covering all of them.

The water bashed and pressed against the shield, but both it and Stevonnie held firm.

"How long can you hold that?" Pearl asked simply.

"Not… forever." Stevonnie grunted in return.

"Dang, man. Lapis has got us against the wall," Amethyst moaned. "We need to get to the barn!"

"I know… That's why you three are going to make a break for it," Pearl said.

"Pearl. You can't take her yourself," Garnet replied.

"I don't need to. I just need to buy you three enough time to catch up with Spinel and retrieve that storage cube."

"That's crazy, dude! Listen, take it from someone who's recently gone toe-to-toe with Laps, you're gonna get beat. Hard."

"That doesn't matter!" Pearl exclaimed. "You were right, Amethyst. We need to be making progress towards the barn. And if that means splitting the team, then so be it." She paused. "Even if we did just all come back together…"

Amethyst sighed. "Geez, P. You're a real pain sometimes… Fine, we'll do your plan. But with one change. I ain't lettin' ya face off against Lapis by yourself."

"Amethyst, your whip's not going to do much good against her."

"Duh. That's why I'm suggesting that maybe…" She gave a cheeky smirk. "We let Opal out and see what she has to say on this."

A smile curled around Pearl's lips. "That's a good idea. With her bow and agility, she'd have a good chance."

"Yeah, she's half me. Awesomeness is to be expected."

"Alright. So we have our plan," Garnet nodded. "Stevonnie?"

"I… got a little… left…"

"Okay. You two get ready. I'm going to grab Stevonnie and leap back onto the porch. As soon as I begin to, you need to fuse and move out of the way."

"Right," Pearl and Amethyst said together, grabbing each other's hand.

"Leave nothing back. Poof Lapis as quickly as you can." She nodded at them. "Is everyone ready?"

"Wait…" Stevonnie said. "I don't think-"

"This is the best plan we have, Stevonnie," Garnet cut them off. "We have no other choices."

Stevonnie felt their arms give just a little to Lapis's continuing onslaught. "Alright. Fine, let's go."

Garnet wrapped an arm around Stevonnie's waist. "Hold it as long as you can. Give Pearl and Amethyst enough time to fuse and move out of the way."

Stevonnie nodded silently and in another moment, they felt themselves being lifted into the air. They saw Pearl and Amethyst be engulfed with the familiar gem glow followed by the Giant Woman herself, Opal, rising from where they stood. With just a glance over her shoulder, Opal leapt out of the way of Lapis's water blast. Stevonnie dispelled their shield just seconds before they and Garnet touched down onto the porch.

Opal began running circles around Lapis, gracefully dodging blasts of water as she summoned her bow and pulled back the string, summoning an arrow.

"Come on. She knows how to handle herself." Garnet tugged on their arm, beckoning them towards the beach house.

With just another look at Opal, who shot an arrow that Lapis dodged, Stevonnie nodded and said, "Right. Let's go."

They ran into the house and stood on the warp pad. The sounds of battle were still audible as the pad activated and took Stevonnie and Garnet away, for the last time that day.

As they ran towards the barn, Stevonnie almost expected Peridot to pop out of nowhere and start flinging heavy metal objects at their heads. But that, thankfully, didn't happen. In fact, as they approached the barn, it would have been easy to convince themselves that no one was here, especially since the barns two large doors were shut.

Garnet laid one of her hands on the door and paused, looking back at Stevonnie as they caught up.

"I think I can hear Spinel inside… Our final confrontation is on the other side of these doors. Are you ready, Stevonnie?"

They nodded solemnly. "Yes. I'm with you Garnet."

Garnet nodded back and then pushed open both of the barn doors.

The first thing Stevonnie saw was a green glint of something on the table in the middle of the barn. A few steps forward and they could see that it was Peridot's gem, freed from the device. Said device was also still on the table and the storage cube sat next to it. Stevonnie noted that its top had flowered out.

 _It's open… We're already too late…_

But the most prominent feature of the room was Spinel herself. Only, instead of standing proudly that she had accomplished her goal, she was on her knees, her back facing them.

"Spinel," Garnet said.

No response.

"Spinel."

Still no response.

"Spinel! Look at us!" Stevonnie commanded.

A moment passed and then Spinel slowly spun around, revealing two wet streaks that passed from her eyes all the way down her face.

Spinel seemed to notice the surprised reaction she got, and smiled bitterly. "Not what you were expecting?"

"You're ... crying?"

"Of course. I…" She looked towards the cube. "It was empty. All this work, all this effort, all this…" Spinel clutched her hand, wrapping her fingers around her gem. " It was for nothing."

"You mean… Experiment 626 wasn't in the cube?"

Spinel chuckled, in such a way that it matched her expression perfectly. "I can't believe that you lied to them."

"I didn't," Garnet responded harshly. Stevonnie had nearly forgotten that she was there.

"Oh? So you just withheld parts of the truth?"

"Garnet. What's she talking about?" Stevonnie asked, looking intently at her. "Is… What's going on?"

Garnet pursed her lips, but was otherwise silent in response.

"If she won't tell you, then I will, Stevonnie," Spinel said as she rose to her feet. "You deserve to know the truth, in the end."

"You certainly have some nerve, talking about truth…"

"I can see why you'd think that. And yes… I have deceived you. You and all the Gems. But I did so for a very important reason."

"And what reason is that?"

Spinel was silent for a beat, her eyes looking Stevonnie up and down, before she said simply, "Experiment 626 was never in the cube. _I'm_ Experiment 626."

Stevonnie gasped. "You're… Experiment 626…"

Spinel chuckled again. "Of course. How else would a Gem gain such… incredible powers?" She looked down at her gem, on the back of her hand. "I was the lab's primary subject. At least… for a while."

"If you were experimented on at the lab," Stevonnie said, trying their best to get a handle on their reeling thoughts, "then… does that mean you're corrupted?"

"Well, it seems I truly wasn't good at covering my tracks," Spinel smirked. "Yes, in a sense. My Gem is corrupted. The lab's main goal was to study corruption and to see if it could be harnessed." She looked back at them, the iciness of her stare chilling Stevonnie's feet. "Their end goal was to induce a controlled corruption into a gem in order to alter it on a fundamental level. I… was the result."

Stevonnie felt their lips tremble, trying to form words, but no noise came out.

"But such progress came at a price… While the corruption started out controlled … it doesn't remain that way." Her hand darted over and covered her gem once again. "Even now, I can _feel_ it eating away at me…"

"You mean…" Stevonnie trailed off.

"Yes… Sooner or later, I'm going to succumb to the corruption. I'll… lose myself." She looked over at the cube. "When I awoke in the lab, I was distraught. I saw that it was abandoned and after looking through the records… I realized that it had been over five thousand cycles of this planet since they had left."

"But if you were their main subject, why'd they leave you?"

"I don't know. The records say that the Rebellion was pushing closer and closer towards the lab. During the excavation, I was just… forgotten." She laughed bitterly. "And when I found out about that, I wasn't able to keep a handle on myself." She slowly shook her head. "When I came to, most of the machines and computers were trashed. It seems I didn't know my own strength…"

"Then what about the cube? What was in it? Or, what did you think was in it?"

" _Heh_ , simple. A cure."

"A cure…" Stevonnie slowly repeated. "A cure to the corruption?"

Spinel nodded. "In the latter days of the labs activities, when it became clear that the corruption couldn't be so easily controlled, the lab's scientist shifted their focus to trying to find a cure. I knew that they had made some progress. And when I found that cube in one of the storage units, I thought I had found my second chance. My salvation…"

"But it was empty…"

"Yes," Spinel said softly. "They didn't forget that, it seems."

"But ... why didn't you come to us? Instead of tricking us, why didn't you just ask for help?"

Spinel's expression immediately darkened as she turned her gaze towards Garnet. "I did," she said, her voice laced with venom. "Who do you think released me from my containment cell?"

Stevonnie quickly turned towards Garnet, "You… you released Spinel?"

A pause.

"Garnet?"

"In a sense," she answered simply. "When I restarted the generator for the lab, I overcharged it, and that overloaded Spinel's containment cell."

"As soon as she entered the room, I knew what she was," Spinel continued. "A fusion. A Crystal Gem. I thought she had come to shatter me, so I threw myself at her mercy, telling her everything I knew about myself and the lab and my powers and the corruption. _Everything_. And then I asked if the lab was truly abandoned. And she said 'yes'. And then, I asked her for help. I told her that the lab was working on a cure and if she just helped me find it, then I'd just disappear and she'd never see me again. Why don't you tell them what your answer was."

Garnet was silent.

"Garnet?" Stevonnie asked hesitantly. "What… what was your answer?"

"... I told her no."

Garnet's answer struck hard, to the point where they found it difficult to even respond, "N-no?! Garnet, what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking about the safety of the planet," Garnet answered firmly. "After Spinel told me everything, I saw vision after vision of Spinel using her powers to hurt people. I… couldn't take the risk."

"You judged me… Based on what I _might_ do!" Spinel shot back, her voice raising in volume as she spoke. "Not on what I have done…"

"You have no right to talk about what you 'have' done," Garnet coolly replied. "You've manipulated everyone around you. And you've hurt my family… That is not something that I forgive easily."

"Hurt? How? By making them happy? Giving them what they want?"

"No, you tricked them. All so you could use them."

Spinel looked away. "Yes… I was using them. And I didn't like that…"

"So to dissuade your guilt, you tried to give them what you thought they wanted."

"No, I gave them what they _actually_ wanted," Spinel retorted. "Pearl, no longer troubled by her lost love. Lapis, finally shedding her emotional baggage. Peridot and Amethyst, finding companionship with each other. Steven and Connie…" She looked back at Stevonnie. "Steven and Connie finally acting on what they both want… I needed you, I used you, yes… But I made sure you were as happy as possible."

"That doesn't matter," Garnet said. "You don't get to control other people's lives like this."

"But you get to control mine?"

"No one was controlling you! I wanted to place your gem in a bubble until I was able to discuss the best course of action with the others," Garnet said evenly. "Steven's healing powers can already partially heal corrupted gems, with a bit more practice and refinement-"

"And I told you I wasn't going in a bubble!" Spinel yelled. "I wasn't going to be placed in a bubble and forgotten again!"

"No one was going to forget you."

"No. They weren't. I was going to make sure of that."

A heavy silence hung within the barn around them. After several minutes, Stevonnie spoke softly, "Spinel… I… I'm sorry." Spinel looked up at them, a fresh trail of tears visible on her cheeks. "Everything that's happened to you… I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, well…" Spinel said, not finishing her thought.

"But now, things can be different. We can help you. What Garnet said is true. It's not a perfect cure, but with regular treatments, I'm sure Steven's healing powers can-"

"Stevonnie."

They felt Garnet's heavy hand on their shoulder. Even though she was facing them, Stevonnie could tell that none of her eyes were on them.

"I'm sorry, Stevonnie, but I stand by my decision."

Stevonnie felt like Garnet's answer punched them in the gut. "G-Garnet…" they gasped. "How… No, we have to help! We're Crystal Gems! Helping is what we do!"

"I'm sorry, Stevonnie. But look at what she's done. My vision was correct. With her powers, she's too dangerous to be left alone."

"We're not just leaving her alone! She wants help. Garnet, if we don't do something-" Their voice caught in their throat, but they still managed to say, "If we don't help, then Spinel will die…"

Garnet turned completely away from, say just barely above a whisper, "I'm sorry…"

"No! Garnet-!"

"Stevonnie, it's okay."

They turned back towards Spinel, who was looking at them mournfully. "It's okay," she said again. "I… I'm not worth it."

"That's not true," Stevonnie said. "Everyone, _everyone_ deserves to live the life they want."

Spinel looked sadly at her gem. "Not all of us are made for that…" With one more glance at the two of them, Spinel turned away, resting her hands on the table. "I'm sorry, Stevonnie… For everything…"

"No… No…" Stevonnie could feel themself beginning to tear up. "I promise you, Spinel. We'll find a cure. We'll find it and we'll help you. You won't be forgotten. Not again."

"No… Please… Just forget me now…"

Before Stevonnie could say anything in response, Spinel quickly grabbed a wrench off the table. Stevonnie took a step back, but instead of throwing it at them, Spinel brought the heavy metal tool down onto her hand.

Onto her gem.

"No!"

A sickening crunch echoed throughout the barn. Spinel's form flickered and changed, her expression a twisted mask of pain.

Stevonnie broke from where they had stood and began to run towards her, trying desperately to stop this madness.

They could almost grab Spinel's shoulder,

But…

The wrench came down again.

Spinel was engulfed by a puff of smoke.

Stevonnie fell to their knees, quickly trying to push the smoke away, trying to see, to confirm what they feared.

As the smoke cleared and the last bits of sunlight disappeared behind the horizon, Stevonnie saw them.

"No… No… No… No… No… No…"

It was over.

The broken shards of her gem littered the desk and the ground.

"No… No… No… No… NO… NO!"

Spinel was gone.

* * *

 **Content Warning** for character death and suicide.


	9. Epilogue

Steven was fine for a few nights. One, two, three, even four nights passed with relatively peaceful slumber. But then, one night when he fell asleep…

He saw Spinel.

She was at the barn and her back was to him. He tried to approach, to try and get her to turn around. But as soon as he laid a hand on her shoulder, she crumbled away to nothingness, her voice echoing in his mind.

" _Why didn't you help me?"_

Steven awoke with a start, his first sensation being the wet spot on his pillow. He wiped his eyes and turn over onto his side.

He didn't tell the Gems about the nightmares. He didn't even tell Connie. They would tell him that it wasn't his fault, that they did everything they could, that Spinel was already so scarred by her life.

But Steven knew better.

The nightmares were his punishment-for not being good enough or strong enough, for not being more able to help someone who desperately needed it. So he accepted the nightmares and vowed to use them as the motivation to become better.

Steven closed his eyes and let sleep slowly overtake him again.

"What does that even mean?!"

"Exactly as it sounds. What's done is done."

Sapphire just stood there, in that infuriating way that she could. As much as Ruby loved her with every ounce of her being, no person could so easily get under her gem like Sapphire could.

"Sapphire, you literally see into the future! How can you just take such a… an… uncaring attitude?"

"I do care, Ruby. You know that," Sapphire replied easily. "But dwelling on what has happened will do no good."

"No good? How can you say that? After everything that's happened, how can you just assume that there's nothing left to look at?"

"Because… Because I saw the look Stevonnie gave us. After Spinel shattered herself." Sapphire looked at her gem, before closing her hand into a fist. "I've never seen them give anyone or anything a look like that… Like we're a monster…"

"Sapphire…" Ruby walked over to her and could see that she had begun to cry. Ruby tried to put her arm around her, but Sapphire shrugged her off.

"No, don't," she sobbed. "I… I can see Steven, spiraling away in so many different directions, each one destroying him. I hurt him. So badly. I don't know if he'll ever forgive me."

Ruby grimaced at the ground, before gritting her teeth and saying,. "It's not your fault, Sapphire. You… _We_ did what was best. What we _thought_ was best. And you tell me all the time that's all we can do." She looked away. "Even when we mess up."

"Ruby?"

"Yeah, Sapphire?"

"Can you… can you hold me? And just tell me it'll be better?"

"I thought you hated it when I did that."

"I do. But I just really want to be close to you right now…"

So Ruby did, wrapping one of her strong arms around Sapphire and bringing her close.

"It'll be okay, Sapphire. I promise."

Sapphire laid her head against Ruby's shoulder as they both stood there in heavy silence.

"Garnet? Are you alright? You haven't moved in hours."

Garnet blinked at Pearl's question.

"Yes. I'm fine Pearl. Just… thinking."

Connie lay on her back, on the grass out front of her family's apartment. She was sweating and panting, unable to get up and reach for her water bottle.

Steven would be here soon, and he'd ask what had happened. And then she'd say that she was doing some chores and had overexerted herself.

But that was a lie.

In truth, she had been practicing routines she had learned from Pearl. She had been for most of the day, not even stopping for lunch. But now she was paying the price for that. But she was doing this for a reason, for a purpose.

To ensure that there would never be another Spinel.

To ensure that her family was never put so directly into harm's way again.

But most of all, to ensure that Steven would never have to go through something like this again.

"I'm the jam, you're the biscuit."

Just saying that filled Connie with just a little bit of reserved strength. She grabbed her water bottle and Rose's sword and began walking back to her apartment's front door.

Steven would be there to pick her up soon. Connie hoped she had enough time to freshen up before he arrived.

The ceremony was brief.

In the end, there just wasn't much to say. But there was much to feel. And to consider.

They all gathered around a large tree that was just a ways away from the barn. Steven, Connie, and the Gems all stood there in heavy, emotional silence.

A hole had been dug and Pearl had even found a suitable stone. She had carved the message into it herself, saying that it was her contribution to this, since she had been little help before. Everyone had told her that it wasn't true, that it wasn't her fault. But Steven suspected that she felt the same as he did about his nightmares.

During the whole thing, Steven had held onto the storage cube. Tightly, as if afraid that it were going to fall apart if he didn't. And when the time came, Steven slowly marched over to the small hole, gently placing the cube in it. He pulled the mound of dirt over as he saw tears beginning to to hit against the dirt.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

He felt a pair of arms hold him and heard Connie's ragged breathing next to his ear. He grabbed one of her hands and squeezed it tightly. After a moment, the two of them began to slowly rise together. But as he turned and started to walk back to the Gems, he looked at the stone and its message one last time.

 _Here lies Spinel_

 _May she never be forgotten again_

* * *

Want more mind altering goodness with Spinel? Check out Dragon Elexus's incredible spin-off, _Forget Me Not_.


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